An Army bomb disposal team returned to barracks yesterday evening after they concluded that a suspect fire extinguisher found in Dublin's Mansion House did not contain explosives. A follow-up search concluded at 7.30pm but nothing suspicious was found.
The extinguisher, described by a Defence Forces spokesman as "old", had prompted concerns among Garda and Army personnel who were searching the building when it was discovered.
It was examined and X-rayed by the Army's explosive ordnance disposal team, which arrived at the scene at Schoolhouse Lane East, at the rear of the Dawson Street building, at about 3.40pm yesterday. But the suspect extinguisher proved to be a "false alarm", according to the Defence Forces spokesman.
The search of the building, which began yesterday morning, followed a newspaper report yesterday in which it was claimed that a loyalist paramilitary bomb planted there in 1981 may still be in the building.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Vincent Jackson was last night preparing to return to the Mansion House. He and his wife had been evacuated along with staff early yesterday morning.
The security alert was prompted by an allegation made in an interview with a "senior member" of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), contained in the Belfast Telegraph, that it planned to "wipe out" the leadership of Sinn Féin by planting a bomb at the party's 1981 ardfheis. The report also claimed that remnants of the device might still be in place, or may have been unknowingly removed during renovations.
According to the report, the bomb was concealed in a fire extinguisher placed in a ceiling above the ardfheis platform. The UVF also claimed to have passed details of the planned attack to the Government, "through the usual conduit", within the past week.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell yesterday said there had been no delay in acting on the information and that the authorities could not operate on the basis of vague information.