THE ARMY bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion on a suspect device which was found close to St Brigid's and St Patrick's National Schools in Bothar Brugha early on Monday morning.

Gardaí were called to the scene shortly before 9am and the area surrounding the scene was immediately cordoned off. The suspicious container, which had wires coming from it, was located between railings directly oposite the entrance to the two schools.

Superintendent Gerry Smith confirmed the device was inspected by members of the gardaí at around 9am and they in turn requested the attendance of the army EOD team.

' The device was examined by members of the Army EOD team from Gormanston army base and a controlled explosion was carried out,' he said. ' The remains of the device are being forwarded to the Garda Technical Bureau for technical examination.'

The superintendent said no explosive substance was found in the device, which he described as ' an elaborate hoax'.

Some residents living in close proximity to the site were evacuated but gardaí decided not to remove the children from the two schools or those living in the surrounding houses in Bothar Brugha. However, both schools were informed of the situation and advised to keep the children in their classrooms while the situation was brought under control.

One parent, whose child had a hospital appointment earlier in the morning, was bemused to find the street cordoned off by gardaí as she arrived to bring her son to school at around 10.30am.

'My son Theo (8) had a hospital appointment early this morning but he didn't want to miss any classes and wanted to go back to school,' explained Angela Ugwuja from Termon Abbey. 'I was very surprised to see it all cordoned off. We got to the end of the road and realised it was all cordoned off, I don't know what to do now. We walked to the end of the road on the other side and saw it was closed off there but I thought it would be okay from the schools side so we came around before we realised the whole area is shut down.'

Principal of St Brigid's Girls NS Jean Mcfadden revealed the school were unaware of the drama unfolding outside until a member of the gardaí called to the school to inform them of what was happening.

'We had no idea what was going on so we were completely oblivious to it,' she explained. ' The garda came in and said there was a device outside but he did reassure us very quickly that it was a hoax and they were dealing with it. The children were unaware of what was going on but it was a big worry for the parents, the phone never stopped ringing all day.

'Once it was dealt with we were able to text the parents and let them know everything was okay and that the road had reopened. All's well that ends well thankfully. It was a hoax and hopefully we won't have to deal with anything like that again. It really is such a waste of garda resources and everything else involved but they have to be safe rather than sorry.'

The incident is being investigated by gardaí in Drogheda and Superintendent Smith appealed to any witnesses who may have noticed anyone acting suspicously in the area to contact gardaí in Drogheda on (041) 9838777.

- FIONA MAGENNIS