Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ has evacuated its Dublin headquarters after receiving a bomb threat by email this morning. Presenters and other staff were ordered out of the studio buildings on the Montrose campus in Donnybrook, south Dublin, as armed police arrived at the scene.
The alert disrupted the broadcaster’s schedule, with RTÉ Radio One replacing Today with David McCullagh with looped music. RTÉ said the safety of its staff was the priority and that normal services would resume as soon as possible after talks with police.
RTÉ was not the only target. Mediahuis, publisher of the Irish Independent, evacuated its Dublin offices and staff at the Irish Mirror, Newstalk, Today FM and Virgin Media were reportedly evacuated.
According to The Irish Times, the email did not name any specific news organisation and the threat was believed to be a hoax. Irish media reported the message claimed to come from the group behind recent threats against aircraft, though no link had been independently established.
Irish police, An Garda Síochána, said in a statement: “An Garda Síochána is aware of a threat made against media organisations here and in Europe.” It added that it was liaising with Irish media and the threats would be investigated.
The scare followed a second wave of bomb threats against European flights this week. At least 25 flights were affected on November 5, according to Reuters, with some escorted by fighter jets and others forced to divert.
An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome carrying 151 passengers and six crew was diverted to the Évreux-Fauville air base in Normandy, northern France. In Spain, airport operator AENA said Madrid-Barajas airport had received a threat naming three flights.
On November 3, at least seven flights were targeted, a day after a Wizz Air service from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest with a Hungarian fighter escort. No explosives were found.
EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was “too early to draw conclusions on whether the incidents are linked”. European officials have blamed Russia and Iran for a string of hybrid attacks and acts of sabotage across the continent, though both countries deny any such campaign.
Northern Ireland faced a similar episode on October 19, when up to 300 schools received emailed bomb threats that police treated as a hoax. Stormont education minister Paul Givan said the messages were “Islamist” and had been signed off with “Allahu Akbar”.
Police said that email originated outside the UK. Schools in Scotland, Hungary and Serbia were targeted the same day.
The latest alert came days before Dublin was due to host a summit of the European Political Community, during Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
