Thanks to the vigilance of the security forces on both sides of the border, two potential bomb attacks were thwarted and a number of men arrested over the weekend.
The first operation in the Dundalk area resulted in the discovery of around 600lbs of homemade explosive mix and the arrest of seven people on both sides of the border, four of whom have been charged in connection with the discovery.
In the second incident, a bomb believed to be as much as twice the size of the first discovery was intercepted in Derry with the target suspected to be a police station in the Waterside area.
While the discoveries of these potentially lethal devices are to be welcomed, it is alarming to think that there are still people in the community who believe that it is worth jeopardising the lives of innocent civilians in pursuit of political objectives.
On these occasions the planned attacks were thwarted.
But, if even one of these acts of madness is successfully carried out in the future, the consequences could be catastrophic.
To put things in perspective, it is believed that the device discovered in Derry was three times as powerful as the bomb which caused so much death and destruction in Omagh.
If the Waterside police station was the intended target of the Derry dissidents, it would almost certainly have caused serious problems for Altnagelvin Hospital which is in close proximity.
Given the notorious unreliability of these devices it could even have gone off on its way to its intended target, again risking the lives and property of innocent people.
Apart from the physical danger posed by these groups to the entire community they also carry a threat to the political process, with some individuals only too willing to use every excuse to hold up progress by pointing to the mad acts of dissidents.
And, if the people involved in these organisations will not stop their activities simply because it is the right thing to do, perhaps they should consider more pragmatic matters.
Many of their members are languishing in prison cells, facing the prospect of long years of incarceration.
Can they say that their political ambitions and aims have been furthered in any way shape or form?
Anybody else tempted to become involved with these dissident groups should consider that.
The best thing that could happen to them would be that they are caught before they cause another Omagh.
