Viable explosive device defused near Dublin summit dinner venue attended by Macron, Burnham and Carney

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

Police said they responded to a report of a suspicious device on Friday afternoon at the building on Merrion Square. Leaders from the European Political Community, a grouping that includes both EU and non-EU countries, had gathered for dinner on Thursday at a venue on another side of the square.

"Based on initial Garda (police) assessment the defense 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.

An investigation is under way, the statement added. Police did not say when they believe the bomb was planted and gave no further details about the device.

French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended as a guest, were among those at the dinner, which was held at the National Gallery of Ireland.

A security cordon had been placed around the dinner venue, with roads in the vicinity of Merrion Square closed off. Police described the two-day gathering as the largest security operation they had ever undertaken.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also in Dublin for the summit but did not attend the dinner. He was instead meeting US presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff on the outskirts of the city at the time.

The summit continued on Friday with an informal meeting of EU leaders. Those proceedings took place at a separate venue about 1.5 kilometers from the building where the device was discovered.