Suspicious device at Merrion Square office building made safe during Dublin summit
Gardaí and the Defence Forces responded on Friday 13 November to a suspicious device at an office building on Merrion Square, Dublin, during the European Political Community summit. Police later said bomb disposal experts made a "crude but viable device" safe.
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The story, neutrally told
Left · 1Gardaí said they responded shortly after 2.20pm on Friday 13 November to a report of a suspicious device at an office building on Merrion Square in Dublin. The Irish TimesLC “Gardaí said they responded to a report of the device at an office building in Merrion Square shortly after 2.20pm on Friday.” Read at The Irish Times ↗ Left · 1The Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team attended and a cordon was set up. The Irish TimesLC “The Defence Forces Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended the scene and a cordon was established.” Read at The Irish Times ↗ Right · 1In a later statement, quoted by Reuters, police said the EOD team "has made what is a crude but viable device safe", and that an investigation is under way. The Straits TimesRC “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.” Read at The Straits Times ↗
Right · 1Police did not say when they believe the device was planted or give other details about it. The Straits TimesRC “It did not say when police believe the bomb was planted or give other details about it.” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Left · 1The incident came during the two-day European Political Community summit, which Dublin was hosting; traffic disruption had been in place around Merrion Square for several days. The Irish TimesLC “A number of traffic disruptions were in place around the Merrion Square area for the past few days due to Dublin hosting the European Political Community summit.” Read at The Irish Times ↗ Mixed · 2On Thursday evening Taoiseach Micheál Martin hosted EU leaders and others at a dinner at the National Gallery of Ireland, which Reuters said was on another side of the square; attendees included Emmanuel Macron, Andy Burnham and Mark Carney. The Irish TimesLC “On Thursday evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin hosted the EU heads of state and government along with other leaders for a dinner at the gallery.” Read at The Irish Times ↗ The Straits TimesRC “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.” Read at The Straits Times ↗
Mixed · 2The Irish Times understood the building was not the National Gallery and was not evacuated; Reuters said the summit's main venue was 1.5 km from the device and that an informal EU leaders' meeting continued there on Friday. The Irish TimesLC “It is understood that the building was not the National Gallery of Ireland” Read at The Irish Times ↗ The Straits TimesRC “The summit, which continued on Friday with an informal meeting of EU leaders, was held at a separate venue 1.5 kilometres away from where the device was discovered.” Read at The Straits Times ↗ Right · 1Reuters also reported that police called the summit the largest security operation they had ever undertaken, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who skipped the dinner to meet US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, was also in Dublin. The Straits TimesRC “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” Read at The Straits Times ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left1 outlet
- Framing
- Breaking-news report on the police response, leading with the investigation and the summit setting.
- Emphasis
- Garda statement, timing, cordon, and that the building was not the National Gallery and was not evacuated.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Written before the device was reported made safe, so it lacks the 'crude but viable' description.
- Charged language
- “ongoing incident”
- For example
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“as this is an “ongoing incident” and no further information is available at this time.” — The Irish Times
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- Reuters wire copy run by The Straits Times, headlined as an explosive device found near where world leaders dined.
- Emphasis
- Device made safe, proximity to leaders' dinner, names of leaders present, scale of security operation.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention that the building was not evacuated.
- Charged language
- “crude but viable”“explosive device”
- For example
-
“Irish army bomb experts made a crude but viable explosive device safe at an office building in central Dublin on Friday” — The Straits Times
What every side reports
- A suspicious device was reported at an office building on Merrion Square on Friday 13 November.
- The Defence Forces EOD team attended.
- The incident occurred during the European Political Community summit in Dublin.
Where accounts differ
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Nature of the device
- Left
- Described as a 'suspicious device' under investigation.
- Right
- Reuters reports police said it was a 'crude but viable' explosive device, made safe.
Left1 article
-
Gardaí and Defence Forces investigate suspicious device found at Merrion Square
Neutral Cautious early report relaying Garda statements and noting the building was not evacuated.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right1 article
-
The Straits TimesRC · · via Reuters
Irish police discover explosive device near where world leaders dined day earlier
Mixed Reuters copy stressing the device's proximity to the leaders' dinner while noting the summit venue was 1.5 km away.
- 13 Nov 18:55 First The Irish TimesLC Gardaí and Defence Forces investigate suspicious device found at Merrion Square
- 13 Nov 22:04 +3h 9m The Straits TimesRC Irish police discover explosive device near where world leaders dined day earlier via Reuters
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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