Members of the ERU are at the scene at Dublin's Connolly Station. Photo: Amy Molloy

ONE of the busiest train stations in the country - Dublin's Connolly Station - has reopened this afternoon having earlier been evacuated and closed due to a "security alert".

In a tweet shortly after 2pm, Iarnrod Eireann said: "Security alert lifted, Connolly Station reopening after Army attended to suspect item, historic in nature. Full services resuming, delays remaining but will ease".

Suspected historical explosives were discovered, Iarnrod Eireann said.

Connolly was evacuated and closed along with nearby houses and offices on Monday morning, the Irish Rail operator tweeted.

A Garda statement said: "Workmen in the area near Connolly Station car park discovered what's believed to be an explosive substance at approximately 11.30am.

"The neighbouring houses and offices in the area have been evacuated and the area in question is cordoned off."

Dublin - Connolly Station is closed due to incident. Suspect device has been located in surrounding area, EOD on route. Please contact @Irishrail for further information on disruption to train times — An Garda SÃ­ochÃ¡na (@GardaTraffic) April 30, 2018

The Army's bomb squad - or Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit - attended at the scene.

"The Army Bomb Disposal Team arrived on scene at 2pm and to ensure public safety a cordon was put in place for the duration of the operation. The explosives were made safe at the scene and removed to a secure military installation for disposal," it said in a statement.

Expand Close The scene at Dublin's Connolly Station. Photo: Amy Molloy / Facebook

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Whatsapp The scene at Dublin's Connolly Station. Photo: Amy Molloy

"The scene was declared safe at 2.50pm."

DART and Commuter trains which operate through Connolly to other stations continued to run but did not stop at Connolly for almost two hours.

Luas trams also avoided stopping at Connolly Station due to the security alert.

At the back of Connolly Station people in businesses and offices were forced to leave their workplaces after evacuation protocols were initiated.

"We don’t know what is happening. The fire alarms went off and we were ushered up here beyond the garda tape," said one man who was standing with his colleagues on Oriel Street earlier

Meanwhile, gardai confirmed that the EOD also attended at Dublin Airport following a security alert that took place yesterday.

On Twitter, Dublin Airport said:

"A suspicious substance was discovered yesterday at our security screening though a normal security check on departing passengers. All procedures were followed & the gardai were alerted. The passengers were permitted to continue their journey following an interview with gardai.

"The substance was brought to the garda station at Dublin Airport, which in a building not used by passengers. This am following a request from the gardai as a precautionary measure, the army deployed an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit to carry out some further tests.

"Those tests are ongoing in a building which is separate from the public areas. The airport is operating normally."

Online Editors