21/06/2024 Irlanda, (Éire-Ireland), Leinster, (Laighin-Laighean), Dublino (Dublin)
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law and/or enforcement agency for assistance”
The discovery of a grenade dating from the War of Independence in Dublin’s Grand Canal close to Harold’s Cross bridge made headlines last summer. However, as Lar Joye, Port Heritage Director at Dublin Port, and former curator of the Military Collections at the National Museum, explained to Myles Dungan on RTÉ Radio 1’s History Show, there are probably plenty of other munitions from Ireland’s revolutionary years still out there in a variety of places. Here are some lightly edited extracts from that discussion. “If you look over the last four or five years, this is happening maybe two or three times a year, quite spectacularly also in some of the rivers”, explained Joye. “A grenade was found in Ballsbridge in 2017 and if you’re on the internet, you’ll see some very dramatic footage of it being exploded by the bomb squad near the bridge in Ballsbridge. Many of them are, of course, a legacy of the War of Independence and the Civil War when they were very, very prevalent. Even since then, I suspect some have been thrown into the canal to be got rid of. So, it has become a very, very common event over the last couple of years.” The Grand Canal grenade was a Mills’ bomb, the distinctive pineapple-type grenade seen in countless war movies over the years. “That’s the one invented by a gentleman called Mills in 1915 and millions and millions were in use in the British Army right up into the 1960s”, explained Joye. “It was a very effective weapon when you threw it and took between four and six seconds to explode and had a killing range of about 20 metres circular around the explosion so quite an effective and nasty piece of equipment. That’s why even today they have to be treated with some safety. They are very dangerous as they’re designed to do one thing. So if you do ever find one, make sure that you don’t touch it, and contact the relevant authorities.”
If you find anything that appears to be an explosive device, do not touch it, leave it where it is and call the police. We will contact the appropriate agencies to properly dispose of the item.
Biography of a Bomb
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