Gardai believe a bomb found under a car in Limerick yesterday was planted by criminals attempting to kill a local man. Garda sources say a feud has erupted between gangs in the Kileely area where the device was found yesterday after it dropped off the undercarriage of a car.
It is understood the feud is connected to the murder on November 12th of Eddie Ryan, a 40-year-old criminal from Kileely who was shot while drinking in a local pub.
At a press conference in Henry Street Garda station yesterday evening, Chief Supt Liam Quinn said the device had been expertly put together and was "sinister and serious". It was too early to say what the motive was or who might have been involved.
"Essentially it was an undercar booby trap. Had it exploded, it would have had the capacity to cause serious injury," he said.
Gardai were alerted to the device at 7.12 a.m. when a reporter with the local radio station, Limerick 95 FM, called to say he had received a bomb warning.
Inspector John Scanlan said the device had a mercury tilt switch of a type previously used in the North. "Once you go over a bump on the road, it would set off the device," he said.
The blue Honda Civic car, under which the device was planted, is now being examined and the owner, a resident in the area, is being questioned. Chief Supt Quinn said a team from the Garda Technical Bureau was conducting an examination of the scene at Keane Street, which is just 500 yards from the Moose Park in Cathedral Place where Eddie Ryan was shot.
The Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team from Cork was called to deal with the device after it was found under the car. The cylindrical device had been attached to the car by magnets but had slipped off. Following a series of controlled explosions yesterday, Army experts estimated it contained a pound of explosives.
The device was found in a quiet residential street close to St John's Cathedral in the city centre. The bomb disposal squad was called to a second suspected bomb at 6.30 p.m. at a car park close to the Moose Bar. However, the call was a hoax.
Earlier yesterday another security alert occurred in Buncrana, Co Donegal, after gardai were told a grenade had been placed outside the courthouse on Main Street.
The Samaritans in Derry received an anonymous call at midnight warning that a device had been placed at the door of the newly refurbished courthouse.
Gardai temporarily removed up to 20 people living nearby, as well as the patrons from several public houses. They then sealed off the lower Main Street area.
The Army's EOD team from Finner Camp in south Donegal carried out a controlled explosion on the device at 4.30 a.m. Garda Insp Greg Sullivan confirmed that it was a live hand grenade.