By Paul O’Donovan
A perilous situation arose in Mullingar on Wednesday last, 4 March, when, unbeknownst to the public, a ‘viable’ grenade was transported through the streets of Mullingar in the boot of a car.
The drama unfolded at 12.25pm when Gardaí at Mullingar Garda Station were informed that a grenade, which had just been brought through the streets of Mullingar, was in the boot of a car parked very close to the Garda Station in College Street.
A spokesperson at Mullingar Garda station described what happened last Wednesday afternoon.
“At approximately 12.25pm, a man walked into Mullingar Garda Station and said he had found a grenade at his house and it was now in the boot of his car, which he had parked close to the Garda station.
The man said that he owns a house in Newtown Lawns, Mullingar, and he received a phone call from his tenant that morning that he had found some kind of device in the back garden of the house. The tenant had been doing some work in the garden and had been cutting hedges when he found the device on the ground. The man who owns the house then drove down from Dublin to his house in Newtown Lawns, took the grenade and put it into the boot of his car and proceeded to drive up town through the streets with the grenade in his car and then parked the car in College Street, close to Mullingar Garda station.”
The Garda spokesperson stressed that in hindsight, the man realised he should not have taken this action but at the time didn’t realise the seriousness of his actions. He should have left the grenade at the house, evacuated the property and called the Gardaí. By taking the action he did, Gardai say he endangered many people’s lives by driving through the town of Mullingar, which was busy with people shopping, working, driving, and children going to school, and this could have resulted in a tragedy.
BUILDINGS AND HOUSES EVACUATED
When Gardaí were told there was a grenade in the boot of a car parked outside the Garda station, they immediately evacuated the Garda station and the buildings near by. Coláiste Mhuire was contacted and informed of the situation but on the advice of the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team, it was decided that everyone at the school was safe and were a safe distance from the device, once the pupils, staff and parents used the rear of the school for entering and exiting the school.
The Army EOD team then arrived from Athlone a short time later. They carefully removed the device from the boot of the car and brought it to the Columb Barracks, which was evacuated, before they carried out a controlled explosion of the device.
WAR OF INDEPENDENCE GRENADE
The grenade was described as a Mills 36 from the War of Independence. It was viable and 60% explosive and described as ‘volatile’. It could certainly have killed someone if it had exploded and people were standing near it.
The house in Newtown Lawns, Mullingar, where the device was found was evacuated as were a number of neighbouring houses. The Garda Divisional Search Unit carried out a search of the property but did not find any more suspect devices.
HOUSES EVACUATED
It was a worrying time for some residents who had to evacuate their homes at short notice.
Speaking to Topic this week, one local resident from Newtown Lawns described what was an eventful afternoon. Local journalist, Paul Hughes, heard that a grenade had been found in Newtown Lawns and quickly contacted his wife Martina.
“To be honest, there was no real panic,” said Paul. “The Gardaí called to our house and said we would have to leave the house, as a grenade had been found at a house close by. We have a three-week old baby, so obviously there was some concern and we wanted to do things right without upsetting the baby. A friend came along and helped us to gather our things together and we moved to a friend’s house. We didn’t know how long we would be out of our house, so it was a bit of a shock at the start. We were out of the house for a couple of hours and then we got word that everything was ok and we could go back, so everything went smoothly. Thankfully three-week old baby Méabh slept through it all, but it will be a great story to tell her in the years ahead,” said Paul.
Some people in the area vacated their homes for a short time and returned when Gardaí allowed them to do so.
Local historian Ruth Ilingworth confirmed that the area where Newtown Lawns is now situated was an area of Mullingar where ex-servicemen lived many, many years ago. “That area would have been just large fields years ago but there were a group of houses close by where ex-servicemen lived and over time, they could have been in possession of army devices, so it is not surprising that a grenade from the War of Independence turned up,” said Ruth.
REMINDER NOT TO TOUCH EXPLOSIVE DEVICES
A spokesperson for the Garda Station in Mullingar reminded the public that if they come across what they believe may be an explosive device of any kind, then they should not touch the device. They should clear the area or their house and call the Gardaí immediately, who will investigate the scene properly and safely. This is the best and safest action to take in these circumstances.
