Gardaí investigating series of bomb threats to schools

Gardaí are investigating a series of bomb threats made to a number of schools on around the country Wednesday morning.

The response to the threats is ongoing.

It was unclear if the schools had been evacuated, though gardaí and the Department of Education are in contact with the schools

While information was still emerging on Wednesday morning, The Irish Times understands a number of schools have come forward confirming they had received the emailed threat, which appears to be widespread and not referencing any specific schools.

The threats come in advance of two major EU summits in Dublin on Thursday and Friday and follow a series of bomb threats, all false, against Irish and European media outlets and airlines last week

Gardaí also dealt with a bomb threat to a school in Cork on Monday, since traced to a young teenager, and a similar threat made to a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Bulgaria on Wednesday.

Minister for Public Reform Jack Chambers was on air on Newstalk with Claire Byrne when word came through abut the threat to schools.

“It’s shocking,” he said. “This is the type of behaviour we’re seeing from proxy actors trying to undermine the State and, again, divide society. And I know  we had it in your own studio only last week, so it’s shocking to see schools and children being weaponised in that way.”