Dublin: police announce having neutralized a “rudimentary” but operational suspicious device

The Irish police announced on Friday that they had neutralized a “suspicious” device which turned out to be “rudimentary but in working order” in the center of Dublin, where a European Union summit was being held the same day.

In a statement, the police said they had been alerted early in the afternoon to the presence of a “suspicious device” in an office building located in Merrion Square, in the center of the capital, not far from several museums and the French embassy.

A demining team “neutralized the device, which although rudimentary was in working order,” said the police, who opened an investigation. The Irish capital hosted an informal summit of leaders of European Union countries on Friday, and the day before a summit of the European Political Community (EPC) which brought together around fifty European leaders. A massive and unprecedented security system had been deployed by the authorities, particularly around the convention center, the venue for these summits. This incident occurs against a backdrop of concern in Europe after the proliferation of false bomb threats on commercial flights, including several from Irish companies Ryanair and Aer Lingus, as well as against schools and media, particularly in Ireland.