Irish military experts have neutralized an improvised but viable explosive device found in an office building in central Dublin, near the venue where world leaders had attended a dinner the previous evening.
Irish police said they responded on Friday afternoon following reports of a suspicious device inside a building at Merrion Square.
Following an initial assessment by police, the Defence Forces’ Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was called in to intervene.
“The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team has made safe what was an improvised but viable device,” police said in a statement.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident but have not disclosed when the device is believed to have been placed or provided further details.
The previous evening, leaders attending the European Political Community summit, which brings together European Union member states and non-EU countries, had gathered for a dinner at the National Gallery of Ireland, located on the opposite side of the square.
Those in attendance included French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who had been invited to the event.
Ahead of the gathering, police had established a security perimeter around the venue, while surrounding streets near Merrion Square were closed to traffic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended the summit but was absent from the dinner, as he was holding a meeting with US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, on the outskirts of Dublin.
The summit continued on Friday with an informal meeting of European Union leaders at a different location, approximately 1.5 kilometres from where the explosive device was discovered.
Irish police had described the two-day gathering as the largest security operation they had ever undertaken.
