GARDAÍ BELIEVE an explosive device found in Co Offaly made from petrol and nails had been left for collection for use as part of a local feud.
Five shotgun cartridges were also found at the scene.
The device was discovered at about 7pm on Thursday by a team of gardaí searching near a bridge on the railway line on the Tullamore to Mullingar road, just outside Tullamore.
It was made up of a five litre container which had been filled with petrol, attached to the wiring components of a torch. Garda sources said that while it was not viable in the state it was found, it could have been detonated once a battery was attached to the wiring.
Nails had been attached to the outside of the drum containing the petrol. On closer examination, smaller nails were found inside the petrol container.
"It would have been a fairly lethal fireball device that would have exploded nails all over the place if it had gone off, so it was potentially very dangerous," said one source.
The device was found in a hold-all bag in which five shotgun cartridges were also discovered.
Gardaí believe the bag may have been left for collection.
One line of investigation being explored is that it was to be used as part of a feud in the midlands.
The Army's bomb disposal team made the device safe before it was given to gardaí for technical examination.
The scene was declared safe just before 9pm. Garda investigations are continuing.
Meanwhile, another device discovered later on Thursday in west Dublin was found to contain no explosive content.
The alarm was raised at about 9.15pm after a suspect package was spotted in Ballyowen Park off the Balgaddy Road in Clondalkin.
The Army's bomb disposal team carried out a controlled explosion at about 11pm. The package was found to contain no explosive material. Gardaí believe the incident was a deliberate hoax.