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device

Army bomb disposal teams called to three incidents today

Improvised explosive devices were found in Bray, Co Wicklow and in Athy, Co Kildare.

ARMY BOMB DISPOSAL teams were called to three separate incidents around Ireland today.

They dealt with incidents in counties Mayo, Kildare and Wicklow in response to requests from the Gardaí. In the first incident, a team was deployed to Bofeenaun near Castlebar in County Mayo to deal with an historical munition.

The object had been uncovered by a member of the public carrying out renovations and the Gardaí were alerted. The team arrived on the scene at 3.30pm on farmland near Bofeenaun and examined the object, which was rendered safe using a controlled explosion. The scene was declared safe at 4.15pm.

In the second incident, a team was deployed to Athy, County Kildare to deal with a suspect object. The team arrived on scene at 4.45pm and examined the object, which was located near the train track. Train services had to be suspended for a short period of time and some houses had to be evacuated as the object was rendered safe.

The object is believed to contain some of the component parts of an improvised explosive device (IED) and it has now been removed for further examination and technical evaluation. It will be handed over to the gardaí shortly to assist with their investigation into the incident. The scene was declared safe at 7.20pm.

In the third incident, the Defence Forces deployed a further team to a derelict building near Putland Road in Bray, County Wicklow. Gardai had requested Defence Forces assistance after suspicious objects had been found by them in a derelict house.

The team arrived on scene at 6pm and examined the objects in situ. A cordon had been put in place and some homes had to be evacuated for the safety of the occupants. The objects were rendered safe at the scene without the need for a controlled explosion.

They have been classified as two viable improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and the remains have been handed over to the gardaí. The scene was declared safe at 6.30pm.

Today’s operations bring to 186 the total number of callouts of Army Bomb Disposal teams in 2012. They have dealt with 86 improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Read: Army make safe viable device found beside a car in Dublin>

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