Garda investigates possible Real IRA link to hoax bomb

Gardaí believe the planting of a hoax explosive device on a car outside a house in north Dublin yesterday morning may be linked to a personal dispute involving the man whose vehicle was targeted. However, they have not ruled out a possible link to recent dissident republican activity in the Baldoyle area.

Gardaí were alerted to the device at around 8am when one of the occupants of the house at Grange Abbey Grove, Grange Road, Baldoyle, was leaving for work and noticed what appeared to be a small bomb attached to the windscreen of the car.

Gardaí moved in and immediately evacuated the occupants of more than 50 houses in the Grange Abbey estate.

The Army's bomb disposal experts were alerted just before 9am, and had a team on site at around 9.30am.

The Defence Forces personnel on the scene were satisfied there was no possibility of an imminent explosion, and a number of personnel examined the device at close quarters. It comprised a circuit board attached to a plastic bottle filled with water and a powder, possibly cement or flour.

The area was declared safe just after midday, and local residents were allowed to return to their homes.

The device was taken for further examination by the Army, and will undergo a separate technical examination at Garda headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin. The vehicle was also taken from the scene.

Garda sources said they were hopeful fingerprint evidence may lead to a breakthrough in the investigation. They said the motive for the incident was unclear, but a number of lines of inquiry were being followed.

Reliable sources said it could be linked to a personal dispute between men from the north Dublin area. An attack on a house in Baldoyle in May has also been linked to the same dispute.

However, gardaí also believe there are a number of members of the Real IRA operating in Baldoyle and they were trying to determine if yesterday's attack was linked to that dissident activity.

"We've been aware for a while that a number of dissidents have been active in the area, so that's a strong line of inquiry," said one source.