Man makes threat to blow up gas

A MAN who barricaded himself into a house in Roscrea, Co Tipperary last night threatened to explode gas cylinders.

The siege alert was raised at around 2pm yesterday and all streets in the town centre were cordoned off.

A local priest acted as an intermediary between gardaí and the man at his rented house in Rosemary Street.

A number of ambulances and fire tenders were called to the scene and were still in place last night.

The garda press office was making no comment and local sources said garda presence in the immediate area was low-key.

A local publican, Kelly O’Rourke, whose premises are on Rosemary Square, a short distance from the house, said she only became aware of the situation at 5pm.

Ms O’Rourke said: “I know the man to see and he called in here last night for a bottle of orange. I didn’t know him personally but he seemed a very quiet and nice person. He lived in the rented house and had a dog which he took out walking every day. He kept the house very well and only recently I saw him out painting it.”

Gardaí were handling the situation with the utmost sensitivity last night but had evacuated a number of families in nearby houses.

The house on Rosemary Street is a two-bedroomed terraced building and adjacent to a number of business premises, which include a hairdressing salon and a slot machine arcade.

Traffic in and around Roscrea was disrupted throughout the day as Gardaí kept motorists away from the street in the centre of the town.

However, the incident did not affect traffic on the main Dublin Limerick road as the M7 now bypasses Roscrea.