Limerick residents return home after viable bomb attached to car
Around 20 houses had to be evacuated tonight after the discovery of a bomb in Newcastle West, Co Limerick.
The device -- described by a spokesperson for the army as "viable" -- was attached to a car outside a house at Knights Court, Cullinagh, a housing estate located on the Abbeyfeale Road in the west Limerick town.
According to a well-informed source, a woman living at the house contacted gardaí at around 6.10pm and told them she had seen a person placing the device on the car.
Gardaí are still trying to clarify why the motive behind the incident. They ruled out any link to a shooting which occurred in the town earlier this year.
An army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit based in Cork was deployed to the scene and made the bomb safe.
"A woman who is living at the house saw a person putting it on the car," a Garda source said.
"There are wires coming off it, so the army were called in. We had to evacuate the whole area.
"There are about 20 houses in the estate. It's a fairly new estate which was built in the boom times."
The estate remained sealed off by Gardaí until the device was declared safe and residents returned to their homes.
A Defence Forces statement read: "An Army Bomb Disposal Team rendered safe a viable Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the Knights Court area of Newcastle West this evening.
"The Defence Forces deployed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team after a suspect device was found on the road of a residential estate.
"A cordon and road closures were put in place for public safety and a number of nearby houses were evacuated. The team arrived on scene at 8.30 pm.
"The device was confirmed as viable and was made safe at the scene without the need for a controlled explosion."
"Items of an evidential nature will be handed over to the Gardaí to assist them with their investigation. The scene was declared safe at 10pm."
No one was injured in the incident and Garda inquiries are continuing.
