Residents shocked by events
FOR MANY Bothar Brugha residents, the first indication that something was wrong was a phonecall from worried relations and friends.
As gardaí and bomb disposal experts moved in early on Monday morning, cordoning off the area surrounding the suspect device found opposite the two local schools, only those living in close proximity to the site were evacuated leaving neighbouring residents oblivious to what was unfolding around them.
'I was just on my way out to the shop with my grandson, Jack (2) and when we got to the front door we saw the garda jeeps and the road cordoned off,' explained Phyllis Smith who lives on Church Street.
'It's not every day you see something like this at the end of your street, I don't know what to think but I'm sure the gardaí would come and tell us if it was serious.'
Also worried about how the incident would unfold was Noleen Black from Patrick Street described the whole incident as 'very frightening'.
'I only heard a few minutes ago,' she told the Drogheda Independent on Monday morning. 'My daughter rang me to tell me there was a bomb scare and I came up to have a look and see what was going on.
'If I had children in the schools I'd be very worried. You would wonder what would possess someone to do something like this. Do they think it's funny or something? I just don't understand why someone would do that.'
One local mother dropped her children off at school at 9am and headed around the block for a walk only to return and find the whole area cordoned off.
' It is frightening but the guards have assured us it is a minor incident,' she said.
As the bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion on the device and worked to clear the scene, more and more local residents and parents came to investigate the furore.
Maria Harnett left home early on Monday morning only to return home and find her house cordoned off.
'I met my neighbour and she told me what had happened,' said Maria.
'I wasn't evacuated because I was out at the shops when it happened but they've told me I can't go back in until everything is safe,' she said.
Another Bothar Brugha resident said: 'I didn't even know anything had happened until my friend who has a child in the school phoned to ask me if there had been a bomb scare.
'I said I didn't know and then I looked out the window to see the garda jeep and the road cordoned off. It is hard to believe this is happening right on our doorstep.'
