Father and daughter find unexploded shell on Dublin beach

Bébhinn McAnally Masterson, 11, with her father Cian. Bébhinn found a shell on Skerries beach while the pair were out walking.

An 11-year-old girl and her father were left stunned last Tuesday evening when they came across an unexploded shell, similar to a bomb, on a beach in Co Dublin.

Cian Masterson and his daughter Bébhinn McAnally Masterson were walking along the pier in Loughshinny, a small village between Rush and Skerries, when they came across an unusual sight.

There was a low tide and the back of the pier was accessible to pedestrians, which is not usually the case. 

Cian and Bébhinn decided to walk around the back of the pier, and they noticed an odd metal shape on the ground.

"We found it a bit away from the pier, there was a couple of rocks, but not too many," said Bébhinn. 

We think it was either washed up, or just uncovered. I thought it was a rusted water bottle at first." 

Cian also thought it was a rusted metal water bottle. 

"Then I had a better look at it and thought it might have been something more serious," said Bébhinn.

He took a picture and sent it to his friend, who is in the army. His friend in turn passed it onto the bomb disposal team.

"They think it is an artillery shell or anti-aircraft shell," said Cian. "It's about a foot long. 

"The bottom half was embedded into the ground and there was a thread at the top of it, a type of protected cap. It looks a bit like a giant bullet. 

My friend actually rang me to make sure I didn't bring it home." 

The pair went home and called the gardaí to alert them to their find. The gardaí stood on guard all night to make sure nobody else came across the shell, but by that stage, it had been covered over by the tide.

The next low tide was around 7am the next morning, and the army's bomb squad were scheduled to come out at that time to inspect the device. 

Cian and Bébhinn set their alarms early so they could direct the ordnance corps to the shell and watch them carry out a controlled explosion.

They stood a good distance away at the harbour and watched the army put explosive charges around the device and sandbags on top. 

They were then laying out a reel of cable — it was like something from a Wile E. Coyote cartoon," said Cian.

A man shouted a warning, and then there was an explosion and a lot of smoke. 

"It went up 2m on the high wall, which is about 5m tall in total," said Bébhinn. "My friend lives a bit up the road from the pier, and his mam heard it."

Cian said it was like a "decent firework-style" explosion. 

The pair went down to the site afterwards and found a small crater where the shell had been. "We couldn't find any bits of it, so either they took it away or it was atomised," said Cian.

The father and daughter think that it may have washed ashore recently due to the stormy weather, or it was buried deep underwater and only recently surfaced.

In any case, the army was able to tell them that the device had not been fired.

"It was still live, but it wasn't fired, as the driving band — the silver loop at the bottom — was not scored," said Cian. "If it had been fired and didn't go off, it would have been far more unstable."

It was also believed the shell was at least 80 years old and possibly came from the Second World War.