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Glengad man sparks major bomb
alert
06.05.10
"It was like the D-Day
landings"
by Linda McGrory
A Glengad man who put a German WWII bomb up for
sale on the internet was shell-shocked when the
Irish Army bomb disposal squad landed on his
doorstep the next day.
"It was like the D-Day landings," said a stunned
David McDaid yesterday. "I posted this old bomb on
DoneDeal.ie and the next day a whole Army platoon
was at my door. It was like something you'd see in
the films. There were about 15 soldiers dressed in
the full gear, two jeeps and a lorry."
The 36-year old father-of-three removed the rusty
shell from a remote field near his home in Glengad
in North Inishowen several months ago. He
transported the item in a trailer to a shed at his
28-year old partner, Breege Doherty's home, at
Convent Road, Carndonagh about 10 miles away. He
then took photos and posted it on DoneDeal.ie. He
renewed the post on May 3, this time sparking a
major bomb alert when gardai received information
about the munition and sent officers to investigate.
"I showed it to the guards and I think they realised
there was nothing to worry about. But I totally
understand they have a job to do and had to call in
the Army." |
He said a garda car
remained outside his partner's house throughout the
night pending the arrival of the bomb squad on
Tuesday, May 4, at 3pm.
"That old bomb was lying about since my late
grandfather was young. It was said to be from a
German plane that went down in Glengad in WWII and
was looted. We used to sit and play on it as
children. Some quad bikers were even using until
recently as a bridge over a ditch," added David.
Buncrana Inspector David Kelly said gardai were
alerted to the find after receiving information that
a WWII bomb was up for |
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sale on the internet.
He said while all the indications were that the
device did not contain explosives, gardai called in
the Army in accordance with protocol and as a matter
of public safety. Army spokesman, Captain Pat
O'Connor yesterday explained the operation.
"We responded to a request from local gardai that we
should investigate a device found locally. We
deployed a team which found an inert World War II
era munition.
"Our team made it safe for transportation, then
removed it to a secure location where it was
destroyed," said Capt O'Connor.
Meanwhile, David McDaid admitted he was "mortified"
when around 15 soldiers and gardai turned up at his
girlfriend's door in the middle of the day. But he
can now see the funny side. "The rumours spread like
wildfire around here so at least now I can put the
record straight about what happened," he laughed. |
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