Irish media outlets evacuated as wave of bomb threats hits Dublin newsrooms
· IrishCentralStaff at RTÉ, Newstalk, Today FM, Virgin Media, and the Irish Independent were ordered out of their buildings on Friday morning after a wave of bomb threats arrived by email.
Gardaí, including members of the Armed Response Unit, were sent to RTÉ’s Donnybrook campus while the buildings were searched and the national broadcaster switched to pre-recorded programs as a precaution.
RTÉ News reported that the alarm was raised after an email was sent to the broadcaster early on Friday, along with scores of other media outlets across Ireland and Britain. Presenters and staff were evacuated from the Montrose campus, and RTÉ said the safety of its staff and personnel was paramount, with normal services to resume as soon as possible following consultation with gardaí.
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Newstalk reported that RTÉ, Bauer Media, Virgin Media, and Mediahuis, the owner of the Irish Independent, were all evacuated on Friday morning after threats were received, and that multiple media organizations in Ireland and the UK were sent identical messages that are now being monitored. The threats to Irish newsrooms appear to have been sent by email.
In a statement reported by both RTÉ News and Newstalk, An Garda Síochána said: “An Garda Síochána is aware of a threat made against media organizations here and in Europe.”
The statement added, “An Garda Síochána has been liaising with the Irish media organizations, and the threats will be investigated.”
Speaking to RTÉ’s David McCullagh by phone shortly after the Montrose evacuation, the Taoiseach described the disruption as worrying and said public safety was the government’s first priority.
“We will go after this to identify who’s responsible and to hold them accountable. And we have very skilled experts now working to identify those responsible for this.”
Martin said it was not yet known whether individuals or a coordinated operation were behind the campaign. Asked whether Russia was responsible, he declined to speculate and said he would receive a fuller security briefing later in the day. “I think that is a matter for experts to assess,” he told McCullagh.
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The timing is awkward for the government. Dublin is due to host the European Political Community summit next week, an event that will bring 55 heads of state to Ireland.
“The security stakes are much higher in this period of time than they have been for a long time in Europe,” Martin said.
He said security agencies had been preparing for such risks since before Ireland’s EU presidency and were working closely with their European counterparts, and he urged anyone who receives a threat to take it seriously and report it to gardaí.
Tánaiste Simon Harris, speaking on Cork’s 96FM, said the situation was evolving in real time and that authorities had not yet established who was responsible or whether the threats were coordinated.
“The priority is that people are safe. We need to work to identify the culprits as well. I want people to know we are alive to these risks,” Harris said.
A government statement issued on Friday morning said that “it seems likely that this is a co-ordinated campaign of disruption,” while stressing that those behind it remain unidentified.
“Hoax threats such as these cause fear, distress, and disruption to people going about their daily lives and activities; they achieve no positive purpose whatsoever,” the statement said, adding, “Every effort will be made to identify those responsible and to hold them to account.” Gardaí and the Defense Forces are liaising with European security counterparts.
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Broadcasts were interrupted on both RTÉ Radio 1 and Newstalk before resuming, with McCullagh returning to air from RTÉ’s mobile studio. Back on air at Marconi House, Newstalk presenter Claire Byrne told listeners, “And we’re back. Just like many other media organizations in Ireland today, we were advised to leave the building today on the basis of a message that we received.”
She continued, “We’ve been in touch with the gardai, everybody left, and we’ve been advised that we could return to the building and that that warning was a hoax,” according to Newstalk’s own report. Byrne apologized for the disruption and moved on to her next interview.
The newsroom evacuations follow a turbulent week in Irish and European aviation. At least 27 flights across Europe were affected by hoax alerts on Thursday, including an Aer Lingus service from Dublin to Rome that was diverted to a French military air base. All of the affected flights landed safely, and no devices were found.
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