Viable explosive found at rural home in Co Offaly

The army bomb squad was called out to deal with a viable device in Co Offaly in the early hours of this morning.

Gardaí contacted them after a suspicious device was found at a home in Fivealley, a rural area near Birr.

Nearby roads were closed, a building was evacuated, and the bomb disposal team arrived on the scene at 2.20am.

They made the device safe without a controlled explosion and when they examined it, determined that it was viable.

The scene was declared safe at 3.10am and the device has been handed over to gardaí for further investigations.