Discovery of 100-year-old hand grenade sparks alert

THE DISCOVERY of a hand grenade - possibly dating back to the War of Independence - sparked a major alert this Friday morning.

The device was found shortly after 9am at Solohead in County Tipperary.

The Army Bomb squad from Collins Barracks in Cork was dispatched to the site after the 100-year-old grenade was discovered by council workers carrying our road repairs near the Solohead Monument.

The area was evacuated as a precaution and a local road, off the main Tipperary to Limerick road, was closed for a time.

An ambush at Soloheadbeg took place on 21 January 1919, when members of the Irish Volunteers ambushed Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) officers who were escorting a consignment of gelignite explosives at Soloheadbeg.  

Construction work was taking place at the scene with the County Council doing repairs work in the area when the discovery was made.

It's understood the device has since been safe and the road has re-opened.