Bomb was thrown into house with five children inside

A bomb was thrown through the front window of a house in Limerick with five children inside, two of them toddlers. It landed on a kitchen table and, miraculously, failed to detonate, Limerick Circuit Court heard.

A girl and a boy, both aged 14, an 11-year-old girl, and two infant girls, aged 11 months and 18 months, were in the house. The bomb was made up of shotgun cartridge propellant, lead shot, and marbles.

State prosecutor John O’Sullivan told the court: “The amount of shotgun propellant cartridge could make up to 50 12-guage shotgun cartridges, which would be dispersed in the event of it exploding. The marbles would act as shrapnel and be scattered far and wide, if exploded. It would have caused significant injuries if it had detonated.”