Guns N' Robots: Kerry man builds bomb disposal robots after his explosive beginning

Padraig O’Connor's now legendary school project made a big bang. Four decades on, he leads a 22-strong company in Tralee designing and making high-tech ordnance disposal robots

Padraig O’Connor caused havoc in North Kerry as a 14-year-old when he made a real gun for a school project — and demonstrated it in action. Four decades on, his firm Reamda supplies the Irish Defence Forces with bomb disposal robots and also exports to several countries. Pictures: Domnick Walsh

Padraig O’Connor will never forget the chaos that unfolded after the school project he had been working on in class for weeks turned out to be a real shotgun.

Now the owner and managing director of Reamda in Tralee, Co Kerry, which specialises in explosive ordnance disposal, he still recoils at the naivety of his 14-year-old self.