LAST UPDATE | 10 Oct

A SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE that prompted an emergency response at a school in Limerick has been determined to have been a hoax.

The package was discovered at Castletroy College in Newtown shortly before 2pm yesterday. It is understood to have contained a potentially hazardous substance.

Gardaí, three units of Limerick City and County Fire and Rescue Service and paramedics attached to the National Ambulance Service were deployed to the school.

The school was evacuated, a cordon was established around the area and the Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was requested to attend.

“Following examination, the package was declared safe and determined to be a hoax. All cordons and traffic diversions have since been lifted,” a garda spokesperson said, adding that investigations into the matter are ongoing. 

Fianna Fáil senator Dee Ryan has described the incident as “abhorrent and deeply distressing”. 

She said that while the motivation remains to be established, “what is clear is that this act was intended to instil fear and discomfort among children, teachers, and parents.”

“Despite the act being a hoax, the intent behind it is utterly deplorable. To deliberately create fear in a space dedicated to children’s growth and education is an act of emotional intimidation and moral cowardice,” the Limerick senator said.

As a parent with children attending Castletroy College, I can only describe the experience of seeing them and their classmates evacuated under such circumstances as harrowing.

A school should be a sanctuary of safety, not a place where young people must confront scenes of emergency response units and bomb disposal teams.

Citing a hoax incident that happened in Dublin last month, Ryan said she fears “we are beginning to see the normalisation of behaviour that seeks to intimidate and unsettle under the guise of hoaxes or pranks”.

“Ireland is a country where most would once have thought of things like anthrax scares as something confined to Hollywood films, not real life. That we are even discussing such events here is deeply concerning.”

She thanked gardaí, the Defence Forces, the emergency services and the teachers and staff of Castletroy College “for their swift and professional response” and said this kind of incident “has no place in our society”. 

“It must be condemned outright and stamped out before it ever becomes normalised.”

With reporting from Jane Moore