Army disposes of lethal war mine

July 1995

KERRY beach users have been warned to stay dear of any circular or metal objects following the detonation of a lethal World War II British sea mine at Rossbeigh this week by an army disposal team.

Garda Supt Michael Maher said that there was good reason to believe that more of the same type of mine would be turning up on beaches. He said the mines had been attached to the sea bed by chains which were now corroding and the mines were being set free.

“Any circular or oval-shaped metal object should not be touched.” he said.

“They are still very much live explosive and capable of killing anyone in the vicinity when they explode,” he said.

This warning was echoed by Army Southern Command Press Officer Michael Lynch, who said any mines discovered either on land or at sea should be immediately reported to the Gardaí. He warned people not to tamper with mines.

Mr Lynch said an army bomb disposal team also disposed on Tuesday of a World War II depth charge discovered at sea off Kinsale. He said mines are regularly discovered along the south west coast.

The mine at Rossbeigh was discovered at lunchtime on Tuesday by County Council workers. Paddy Burke, Mike O’Riordan and Redmond O’Riordan, who were engaged in a cleanup of the beach. The mine was located about two miles from the main beach area, close to the point.

Sergeant Declan Liddane and Garda Stephen Caulfield went to the scene at 1.30pm where they found an oval-shaped metal object which was about three feet in diameter and very badly rusted. The remains of the spikes on the outside were very badly corroded.

An army bomb disposal team from Collins Barracks in Cork arrived at the strand at 6pm. They carried out a number of controlled explosions to dispose of the mine and the area was declared safe at 8.30pm following a two hour operation.

Glenbeigh Gardai assisted in the operation. Supt Michael Maher told The Kerryman that an estimated 250,000 mines were laid in the Atlantic during World War II, but so far only 25,000 of these have been accounted for. Supt Maher said that the area where the mine was found had been sealed off by the Gardai through Tuesday afternoon. He said that this had not posed any problems as it was a relatively remote part of the beach.