Grenade find for Westport man

OF A DIFFERENT TIME The grenade which was found at Buckwaria, Westport last week.

Grenade find for Westport man

Neill O’Neill

THE OWNER of a site in Buckwaria, Westport got more than he bargained for last week, when he stumbled on a grenade half-buried in the ground while he was having a valuation done.
Noel Gill was walking his site with the valuer when he picked up the object without realising what it was. However, he knew from his time watching war movies not to hold onto it, and promptly threw the grenade over a wall before diving for cover.
When nothing happened he decided to call the Gardaí to see what to do and was told to maintain a safe distance and await further instructions.
Garda Jim Corrigan from Westport then contacted the army’s specialist Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit who travelled from Athlone to remove the grenade later that evening.
They identified it as a Mills 36 type grenade which was probably from the Irish War of Independence around 1920. Such finds are not uncommon in Ireland, they assured the Gills, as many people would have had stashes of such weapons hidden in locations around their houses and gardens during that turbulent period in Irish history.
The grenade was deemed not to be a threat and was wrapped in a ballistics blanket as a precaution before being removed to an army firing range in Roscommon to be destroyed.