A HAND GRENADE, possibly from the War of Independence era, has been made safe by an Army bomb squad in Co Laois.
The device, a Mills 36 grenade, was discovered by a member of the public carrying out home renovations in Stradbally this morning.
According to a statement from the Defence Forces:
“The Army Bomb Disposal Team arrived on scene at 9am, where they carried out an initial assessment of the grenade before proceeding to make it safe.
“The grenade was subsequently moved a short distance and disposed of.
The scene was declared safe at 10:10am.
The Army encounters call-outs to deal with historic munitions “from time to time,” the statement said.
Should members of the public find such munitions they are advised to maintain a safe distance, inform An Garda Síochána, who in turn will request Defence Forces assistance.
Mills 36 hand grenades were regularly used throughout the War of Independence of 1919 to 1921, and in World War Two.
They were patented and developed by the British Army in 1915 and continued to be manufactured up until the 1980s.
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