State Archives: Merrion St sale ‘could facilitate sniper attack’

An interdepartmental group on national security expressed concern at the Government’s decision in 1989 to sell a terrace of Georgian houses in Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, because of the potential for snipers to access them to target politicians in Government Buildings on the other side of the road.

State records show that gardaí and the Department of Justice also voiced concern about the personal security of the taoiseach, Charles Haughey, the attorney general, John Murray, and visiting VIPs in the event of the sale going ahead.