Pipe bomb found on Ballina bus bound for Dublin

Pipe bomb found on Ballina bus bound for Dublin


Thirty people evacuated from bus; three-mile stretch of road closed

Anton McNulty

A VIABLE pipe bomb was found on a coach operating on a Bus Éireann route, travelling from Ballina to Dublin on Monday evening.
The 5.45pm Ballina to Dublin bus was stopped by gardaí in Maynooth, Co Kildare, at 9.30pm following an anonymous call to the Gardaí in Longford saying a device was on board.
Around 30 passengers were evacuated when the bus was stopped on the Straffan Road near the train station. The bus was bring run by a private operator for Bus Éireann.
The surrounding area was sealed off and residents were warned to stay indoors. A three-mile stretch of the road was shut down as bomb disposal team arrived at the scene at around 11.30pm.
The pipe bomb, which was described as viable but not primed, was made safe at 1am before being examined by garda forensic experts.
The discovery of the device came on the evening before Queen Elizabeth’s historic visit to the Republic of Ireland which has had security forces on high alert. The queen along with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh touched down at Casemont Aerodrome in Baldonnel at 11.57am.