Ireland’s RTÉ evacuates Dublin office after bomb threat

Ireland’s national public broadcaster RTÉ evacuated its Dublin office after a bomb threat on 6 November. Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch said the decision was made to put staff safety first.

The threat followed separate threats to airlines that disrupted dozens of flights across Europe on Thursday. The Irish government said a coordinated campaign of disruption seemed likely, but that it was not known who was responsible or whether the threats were the work of individuals or a coordinated effort.

Radio programming interrupted

RTÉ Radio One’s Today With David McCullagh went off air and was replaced with music while staff gathered outside buildings at the broadcaster’s Donnybrook campus, The Guardian said. Regular broadcasting resumed at 10:13 Dublin time [14:13 Yerevan time].

Staff at Newstalk Radio, Today FM, Virgin Media and the Irish Independent were also evacuated. Police searched offices and newsrooms.

UK broadcaster Sky said it had also received a security threat, carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to authorities. Its statement was read during a Sky News broadcast, Deadline said.

Authorities seek those responsible

The Irish government said the Gardaí, Ireland’s police, were working with the Defence Forces and cyber and aviation authorities to identify those responsible. Police and the defense forces were also in contact with European security counterparts.