Justice · Dublin newsroom threatsDublin media bomb threats: RTÉ cleared, Newstalk back on airWritten November 10, 2026 at 7:26 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07A bomb threat email forced journalists out of their workplaces and interrupted live0:11broadcasts.0:11R.T.'s campus was declared safe around lunchtime, and Newstock returned after staff0:16were told its warning was a hoax.0:18But the message displays staff across several news organizations and brought police0:22into their workplaces.0:23Who sent the threats and were they part of a coordinated operation?0:26Staff evacuated R.T., Tony Brook campus, and Newstock's Marconi House in Central0:30Dublin.0:31The Irish Independent temporarily evacuated its Talbot Street offices.0:34The threats reached media organizations in Britain too, while Irish police0:38acknowledged threats elsewhere in Europe.0:40The evacuations happened on Friday, November6,2026.0:44The email claimed a planted device would explode within forty-five minutes.0:48That was the sender's threat.0:49Staff and police had to assess the danger without knowing whether that claim was0:53real.0:53The email was sent at about eight thirty three RT.0:56Director General received it at eight forty.0:59Newstock resumed broadcasting at ten Dublin time.1:02Around lunchtime, police declared R.T.1:04campus safe, ending the closure described earlier that morning.1:07RT Director General Kevin Backhurst consulted colleagues and staff contacted Garda1:12Ireland's police.1:13Employees left the buildings for designated safe areas.1:16Armed officers attended, and sniffer dogs searched the campus buildings.1:19Backhurst said staff safety drove the evacuation decision.1:22He described a lot of disruption, but said RT had recently reviewed its contingency1:27plans.1:27Those arrangements helped the broadcaster keep news output going while police1:31searched its usual workplaces.1:33RTU's pre-recorded programming during the disruption.1:35Today, with David McCulloch broadcast from its mobile broadcasting vehicle, known as1:40the Roadcaster, instead of the usual studio, the evacuation changed the schedule1:44while some live broadcasting continued.1:46Newstock's evacuation interrupted the Claire Byrne show at Marconi House.1:50Byrne was presenting the commercial station's program when she had to leave the air.1:54After staff received advice that they could return, she resumed her program.1:57Byrne told listeners police had advised that the warning was a hoax and staff could2:01return.2:02She apologized for the interruption and continued with her next interview.2:05That advice allowed Newstock staff to get back to work.2:08Virgin Media Television received the email but stayed on air and didn't evacuate2:12after following its security procedures.2:15The Irish independent staff left temporarily while security checks took place.2:19Its owner, Media Houis and Newstocks operator, Bauer Media, both had staff2:23displaced.2:24The government considered a coordinated campaign of disruption likely.2:27Its statement described fear, distress, and disruption from hoax threats, and said2:32authorities had taken necessary precautions with the targeted organizations.2:35GARDA committed to investigating and liaised with the affected Irish newsrooms.2:39Prime Minister Macial Martin called the threats worrying and said authorities were2:42taking them seriously.2:44He said Garda, the defense forces, and cyber and aviation authorities were working2:48to identify those responsible.2:50They were also working with European security counterparts.2:52Martin described how easily such messages could disrupt normal activity and cause2:57anxiety.2:57He discussed broader concerns about Russian connections to hybrid activity, but3:01couldn't say Russia was responsible for the RT threat.3:04The government's coordination assessment hadn't identified an organizer.3:07The email went to publicly listed media addresses in Ireland and Britain.3:11Its subject line was menaged to the West.3:13The sender also claimed responsibility for earlier aviation threats.3:17Whether the same person was behind those incidents remains part of the3:19investigation.3:20The displayed sender address used a domain associated with a Lithuanian school.3:24An examination of the email's technical headers indicated it traveled through3:28Microsoft infrastructure authorized to send for that domain.3:31That made a simply forged sender address less likely, but didn't identify the3:35writer.3:36Credentials associated with the address appeared in at least two earlier data3:39breaches.3:40The records indicated password reuse and a password exposed in readable form.3:44Cybersecurity researcher Makiya Mikowski considered unauthorized access to a3:48legitimate account the most likely explanation.3:51Mikowski spent almost thirteen years in the Garda, including its National Cybercrime3:55Bureau.3:55His assessment remains a hypothesis.3:57Investigators would need to separate legitimate account activity from any4:01unauthorized use before drawing conclusions about who sent the message.4:04Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris called any attack or threat against the media an4:08attack on democracy.4:09Justice Minister Jim O'Callakin said the threats were being taken extremely4:13seriously and that efforts would be made to identify those responsible.4:17National Union of Journalists Irish Secretary Seamus Dooley described a deeply4:21disturbing attack on press freedom.4:22Sin F.4:23in leader Mary Lou MacDonald expressed concern for evacuated staff and their4:27families and called for those responsible to face the law.4:29Social Democrats media spokesperson Sin A.D.4:32Gibney emphasized staff safety and resisting attempts to silence media workers.4:35RT's campus was cleared.4:37New stock returned, and the independence evacuation ended.4:40Who sent the email and whether the threats shared an organizer remained unresolved.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
