Irish army bomb experts made a crude but viable explosive device safe at an office building in central Dublin on Friday, close to where world leaders had dined a day earlier during a two-day summit in the Irish capital, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

Irish police, the Garda, said they responded to a report of a suspicious device on Friday afternoon in a building on Merrion Square, one of central Dublin's best-known squares, in front of government buildings and beside the National Gallery of Ireland.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

"Based on initial Garda 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 quoted by Reuters.

Source: Garda statement via Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

1crude but viable device made safe
2:20 p.m.approx. time the device was first spotted on Friday, Irish media reported
1.5 kmdistance to Friday's separate EU leaders' meeting venue
0injuries reported

Spotted in the early afternoon, area shut for hours

Irish media reported the device was first spotted shortly after 2:20 p.m. on Friday at office buildings on Merrion Square North. The area was closed for hours while the army explosives team worked, several surrounding buildings were evacuated, and the street later reopened, Virgin Media News and the Irish Mirror reported.

Source: Virgin Media News / Irish Mirror, Nov 13, 2026

Garda clarified that the building where the device was found was not the National Gallery of Ireland itself, and Irish media reported that no link between the leaders' dinner and the device has been established. Police have not said who planted the device or why.

Source: Irish Mirror, Nov 13, 2026

A square that had hosted Europe's leaders the night before

Leaders from the European Political Community, which includes EU and non-EU countries, had met for dinner on Thursday at a venue on another side of the square. 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, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

Awaaz Punjab has been covering the Dublin summit all week, including the gathering of around 50 European leaders and President Zelenskyy's visit. Read: Zelenskyy at the Dublin EPC summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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, Reuters reported. The summit continued on Friday with an informal meeting of EU leaders, held at a separate venue 1.5 kilometres away from where the device was discovered.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

Investigation under way, timing still unknown

An investigation is under way, the Garda statement added. It did not say when police believe the bomb was planted or give other details about it, and no arrests or suspects were reported in the initial police statement.

Source: Reuters, Nov 13, 2026

What is solid

  • A crude but viable device was found in a Merrion Square office building on Friday afternoon and made safe by the army EOD team, the Garda said
  • No injuries were reported in the initial police statement
  • World leaders had dined at the National Gallery on another side of the same square on Thursday

What is only claimed

  • When the device was planted — police have not said
  • Who planted it and whether it was connected to the summit — no link has been established, Irish media reported
What happens next

The Garda investigation will try to establish when the device was planted, who left it and whether it was aimed at the summit area at all. Watch for a further police statement, any arrests, and whether summit venues in Dublin change their security arrangements.