Tourist offices throughout the Republic are being put on alert following a second parcel-bomb attack on a regional tourist office in 24 hours. The device found yesterday had been sent to a tourist office at Buncrana in Donegal but was diverted to the Regional Tourism Office in Sligo where it raised the suspicion of staff.
The gardai and the Army were called and the office cleared. The Army's explosive ordnance disposal squad X-rayed the package and discovered it was similar to the device sent to the Dublin Tourism Office on Tuesday.
The device in the Sligo office was made safe by a small explosive charge. However, gardai said it contained all the components to have caused a life-threatening explosion if it had been opened by unsuspecting staff.
The device was in a Northern Ireland Tourist Office promotional video box, bearing the words: "Welcome to Northern Ireland." After the device was discovered in Dublin on Tuesday, gardai were unsure whether they were dealing with a loyalist group or a mentally disturbed individual.
It is now believed both devices were posted in Northern Ireland by some group or person trying to affect the outcome of tomorrow's referendums on the Belfast Agreement. A number of similar devices have been located in the post or have arrived at the homes of Catholics in the North during the past year. To date, no one has been seriously injured.
However, gardai say the devices found in Dublin and Sligo were "dangerous". They contained an explosive charge, batteries, connectors and a flash bulb as a detonator. Similar components have been used in devices made by loyalists in the past.
Meanwhile, a bomb scare at the Civic Offices in Dublin yesterday turned out to be a hoax. A member of staff called the gardai about a suspicious package but it turned out to contain maps.