World War I artillery shells defused at Rossbeigh
AN ARMY bomb disposal team was deployed to Rossbeigh Beach on Saturday afternoon where they carried out controlled explosions on several artillery shells found by a passer by.
Believed to have been fired by British soldiers approximately 100 years ago, the shells were discovered by Lissivigeen based geologist Aidan Forde who had been running on the scenic beach on Friday evening.
“Approximately two kilometres down the beach on the western side I saw an area of sand that looked different to the rest and I went to look at it as I thought there was a buried layer of peat,” he explains.
“Straight away I saw an old shell casing but when I looked around I found an intact shell which is obviously very dangerous. I knew what it was as I had seen one before when mountaineering in The Alps.”
Finishing his run, Mr Forde returned to Killarney where he reported the find at Killarney Garda Station. The beach was cordoned off and the controlled explosions were carried out by a team from Collins Barracks at approximately 12.30pm on Saturday. A Defence Forces spokesperson has stated that the projectiles appeared to date from the early part of the last century. He added that the items were most likely unearthed by erosion and the scene was declared safe by 2pm.
Local councillor Michael Cahill says there have been a number of similar finds in the area down through the years.
“I’ve seen the army there several times to carry out controlled explosions. They are usually on shells that would have been fired from Wynn’s Folly as the British Army used it for practice and this increased in the lead up to WWI. There used to be a bounty for these finds and so that’s why there were so many.”
A trained geologist who regularly visits Rossbeigh, Mr Forde, meanwhile, has said that the beach is starting to repair itself following the dune collapse over two years ago. “It’s a natural phenomenon and the rebuilding is also natural.”