Almost 200 sticks of dynamite have been discovered at the home of former RTE presenter.
The Defence Forces have since blown up the explosive in 'three large explosions', according to Cork Beo.
The discovery was made by Fergal Keane on his property in West Cork. The former TV and radio journalist was making renovations to an old farmhouse when the discovery was made.
So renovating an old shed on the farm in W Cork and found this - it’s gelignite - lots of it. Bomb squad have arrived. Earlier tweet with pic of DF personnel deleted at DF request. It’s War of independence era pic.twitter.com/TqcSYicRGU
— Fergal Keane (@fergalrte) October 5, 2023
The discovery was made while renovating an old shed on his property in Baltimore. The gelignite - a type of dynamite - was reportedly from the War of Independence era.
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team and members of an Garda Síochána were at the scene when the almost 200 sticks of dynamite were disposed of.
According to Keane, the house had previously been owned by an O'Neill family, who had emigrated to America. He believed that they had stashed away the dynamite to "use later" but that it had "ultimately been forgotten about." Keane also stated that he believed the family were "heavily involved with the IRA" during the War of Independence. The factory which manufactured the stick was closed permanently in the 1920s.
Keane retired from RTE earlier this year. This follows reports of a man charged with membership to the IRA in Cork and possessing hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
