Gardaí are investigating whether third parties were involved in the distribution of a threat which led to several schools in Co Clare temporarily closing on Tuesday morning.
An email received by a number of schools across the county early on Tuesday morning outlined plans to carry out “one of the most prolific attacks in Irish history”.
However, following an initial assessment, gardaí were satisfied that the security threat was not credible and there was no ongoing risk to the public.
The threat included a name and address of the supposed sender. However, gardaí are now probing whether third parties may have been involved in issuing the threat.
“An Garda Síochána continues to investigate all of the circumstances surrounding this communication including as to whether currently unknown third parties had an involvement in the distribution of this communication.
“No arrests have been made at this time,” a Garda spokeswoman said.
Schools which closed temporarily because of the hoax updated parents and students throughout the morning. Two schools which had closed on Tuesday morning later announced they were reopening before lunchtime, allowing classes and mock examinations to take place.
In a statement, Minister for Education Helen McEntee’s department said she “was made aware that a number of schools closed this morning due to concerning communications issued last night.
“The Department of Education has worked closely with An Garda Síochána and with the impacted schools throughout the day, and has sent a direct communication to those schools offering guidance and support,” it said, adding that all the affected schools are expected to reopen on Wednesday.
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