The Army Bomb Disposal Unit carried out a controlled explosion last night on a 16 lb artillery shell found under the stairs of a house in Whitehall, Dublin.
The pre-second World War device was found by the occupant of the house in Glandore Road, who was carrying out renovations. It had been moved to the garden before the ordnance unit arrived. The unit carried out a controlled explosion on the shell in a nearby field. An Army spokesman, Commdt Eoghan O Neachtain, said the shell was "a blind" - it had been fired but had not detonated at the point of impact. It had most likely been found on a range on an earlier occasion. He warned members of the public not to attempt to move any suspicious device.
The ordnance unit last night was called to deal with a further device which had been handed in at Rathmines Garda station. It turned out to be a 12 lb solid shot, which posed no danger.
Yesterday's finds follow a series of discoveries over the past week. Last Wednesday, a 60-year-old tank shell was found in the attic of a house, also in Whitehall. On Saturday, the unit made safe a 25 lb first World War shell which was unearthed in a garden at Victoria Terrace, Dundrum.
Commdt O Neachtain said the recent spate of discoveries may have something to do with the related publicity in that "people may be prompted to have some device which they collected checked out".