IRA arms dump may have been buried for years

THOUSANDS of rounds of ammunition discovered by a riverbank in Co Kerry were dumped some time ago, it has been revealed.

Local sources in the Tralee area initially suggested the ammunition was dumped earlier this week, leading to speculation local IRA members left them, in a stage-managed dumping, to be found by the gardaí.

However, the 2,000 rounds of ammunition, of a type used in assault rifles, could have been there for some years. They were found by a man walking his dog in the Tonevone area on Tuesday.

Locals reported hearing activity the previous night, leading to speculation that the ammunition was deliberately left in an exposed area so that it would be easily found.

However, gardaí now believe the ammunition had been buried but that the earth was disturbed, exposing the arms dump.

Senior members have ruled out the possibility they were left there as part of some type of “local decommissioning”. This had been the speculation among some in the area following the find.

Following the July 28 IRA statement announcing an end to its armed campaign, members were told to “dump arms”.

It was not made clear how this was to be done at a local level, though the vast majority of arms are believed to be held in a number of central dumps.

A technical examination was carried out on the ammunition, which was found close to a riverside walk in the Tonevane area on Tuesday.