Updated, 21.53

AN ATTACK on the main runway of Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnell, in which the runway was damaged by vandals using a pick-axe, may have been an attempt to scupper the travel plans of Queen Elizabeth.

The runway was accessed between Saturday night and Sunday morning, with the damage noticed during routine inspections early on Sunday.

The damage was later deemed ‘superficial’, however, and the runway was swept thoroughly to remove any latent debris – though investigators from the defence forces and the Gardaí have begun an investigation in order to examine how the vandals gained access to the airport.

It is thought that the attack – which, although minor, left what RTÉ called ‘pock marks’ on the runway – may have been an attempt to render the runway unusable for the aircraft using it.

The aerodrome, which is used by the government jet and is the usual landing point for foreign dignitaries visiting Ireland, is likely to be the arrival point for Queen Elizabeth when she visits next month.

The theory that the attack could have been motivated at foiling the Queen’s plans is one that Gardaí told today’s Evening Herald was a potential -though perhaps unlikely – possibility.

“There is a whole range of possibilities. We just don’t know at this stage,” the paper quoted a source as saying.

The damage to the runway did not affect flight operations at Baldonnell, with the shorter of the base’s two runways instead being used for the day’s operations.