Key facts
- Police said the device found on Merrion Square was crude but viable and was made safe by the army bomb team.
- Police said they did not know when the device was planted and gave no further details about it.
- Police said the two-day European Political Community gathering was the largest security operation they had ever undertaken.
- French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended the November 12 dinner.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was at the summit but met US presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff instead of attending the dinner.
- The summit's November 13 session, an informal meeting of EU leaders, was held 1.5 kilometers from where the device was found.
Irish army bomb experts made a crude but viable explosive device safe at an office building on Merrion Square in central Dublin on November 13, Irish police said. Police said they responded to a report of a suspicious device that afternoon.
"Based on initial Garda (police) assessment the defence forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team were requested to attend the scene. The EOD team has made what is a crude but viable device safe," police said in a statement. An investigation is under way, the statement added. It did not say when police believe the bomb was planted or give other details about it.
Leaders from the European Political Community, which includes EU and non-EU countries, had met for dinner at a venue on another side of the square on November 12. French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a guest at the event, attended the dinner at the National Gallery of Ireland.
A security cordon was placed around the dinner venue, with roads near Merrion Square closed off. Police said the two-day gathering was the largest security operation they had ever undertaken.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was also at the summit but did not attend the dinner, as he was meeting US presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on the outskirts of Dublin. The summit continued on November 13 with an informal meeting of EU leaders at a separate venue 1.5 kilometers from where the device was discovered.