Ireland Bomb threat to Dublin media outlets under investigation
On Friday 6 November 2026, a bomb threat email was sent to multiple media organisations in Ireland and the UK, including RTÉ, Mediahuis, Newstalk and Sky News, claiming an operative had planted an explosive device and giving staff 45 minutes to evacuate. Staff were evacuated from RTÉ's Montrose campus in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, and from Mediahuis offices on Talbot Street and Newstalk at Marconi House. The email was signed by a person calling himself Mikhail Andropov, who described himself as one of the leaders of the group responsible for recent bomb threats against European airlines. Gardaí including the Armed Response Unit searched the premises with sniffer dogs and declared the site safe around lunchtime. The threats are the subject of an active investigation by An Garda Síochána, working with the Defence Forces and cyber and aviation authorities.
- Reported1 Nov
8 reports - Arrested
- Charged
- In court
- Verdict
- Sentenced
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- A bomb threat email was sent to multiple media organisations in Ireland and the UK, claiming an operative had planted an explosive device and giving staff 45 minutes to evacuate.
- The email was signed by a person calling himself Mikhail Andropov, who described himself as one of the leaders of the group responsible for bomb threats against European airlines.
- The incidents followed a series of hoax bomb threats against at least 27 flights across Europe, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair flights.
- Where
- Staff were evacuated from RTÉ's Montrose campus in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Mediahuis offices on Talbot Street, and Newstalk at Marconi House.
- When
- The threat email was received at about 8.33am on Friday 6 November 2026.
- Investigation
- Gardaí including the Armed Response Unit attended the scene and sniffer dogs searched the buildings.
- The site was declared safe around lunchtime.
- An Garda Síochána, working with the Defence Forces and cyber and aviation authorities, are investigating to establish who is responsible.
- Other details
- The Government described the incidents as a coordinated campaign of disruption.
- The threats arrived ahead of two major European political summits to be hosted by Ireland during its EU Council presidency.
83 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe bomb threat email was widely circulated to multiple European media platforms (thejournal.ie)
- whatRTÉ Radio 1 temporarily replaced its regular programming with music following the evacuation of buildings at its Montrose campus in Donnybrook (thejournal.ie)
- whatStaff were evacuated from the RTÉ building following a bomb threat. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatScores of other media outlets across Ireland and Britain also received the threat. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatRTÉ moved to pre-recorded programmes as a precautionary measure. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe email claimed an operative had planted an explosive device inside the building. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatStaff were given 45 minutes to evacuate before the device would detonate. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whatMedia organisations in Ireland and the UK, including Virgin Media, Newstalk and Independent House, received the threats. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe incidents followed bomb threats sent to airlines across Europe in recent days, including one targeting flights from Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe email was signed by a person calling himself Mikhail Andropov, described as one of the leaders of the group responsible for the bomb threats against airplanes in Europe. (irishmirror.ie)
- whatThe email threatened to blow up airplanes, cruise ships, subway stations, and trains. (irishmirror.ie, dublinlive.ie)
- whatStaff at RTÉ, Newstalk and Mediahuis received the same email threat that did not specify a named target. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe email was addressed to a number of news outlets in the UK, including walesonline.co.uk and the Sunday Mirror, along with the Irish organisations. (irishtimes.com)
- whatSky News confirmed it had also been targeted with the threatening email. (irishtimes.com)
- whatEvacuation orders were issued for personnel at the Irish Independent (gript.ie)
- whatEvacuation orders were issued for the Dublin headquarters of TodayFM and NewstalkFM (gript.ie)
- whatSky News was targeted by a security alert (gript.ie)
- whatAt RTÉ, gardaí searched the premises in Donnybrook with sniffer dogs (gript.ie)
- whatAn RTÉ radio host announced the station was sent an email threatening an explosion within 45 minutes (gript.ie)
- whatAn email claimed an operative had planted an explosive device inside the RTÉ building. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatVirgin Media, Newstalk and Independent House also received the threats. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatBuildings were cleared out as a result of the threats. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatOne of the airline bomb threats targeted flights from Dublin. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe email claimed the group was the same one responsible for recent airline threats. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe email was signed by a person calling himself Mikhail Andropov. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatGardaí are not advising any schools to evacuate after a hoax bomb threat (dublinlive.ie)
- whatRTE was also targeted in the email (dublinlive.ie)
- whatRTE was not evacuated when the threat was sent (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe email was titled 'DEATH IS NEAR' (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe email claimed a powerful explosive device with a remote detonator was left in a plastic bag inside the building (dublinlive.ie)
- whereStaff were evacuated from the Donnybrook campus in Dublin. (rte.ie)
- whereThe incident occurred at RTÉ studios in Donnybrook, Dublin 4. (dublinlive.ie)
- whereMediahuis evacuated its offices on Talbot Street in Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
- whereNewstalk, located at Marconi House, was also cleared. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe email was sent to nearly 400 schools north and south of the border (dublinlive.ie)
- whereThree primary schools in Ballyfermot received the emails and subsequently evacuated (dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe threats were emailed to media outlets including RTE Belfast office, Washington bureau, Reuters, Guardian, London Independent, Sky News and BBC (dublinlive.ie)
- whenIreland AM aired until 10am on 6 November 2026 (thejournal.ie)
- whenThe threat email was sent to RTÉ and other organisations at about 8.33am. (rte.ie)
- whenThe threat was received by email on Friday morning. (dublinlive.ie)
- whenThe threats arrived ahead of a week when Ireland will host two major European political summits as part of its six-month presidency of the EU Council. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenThe EPC summit starts in Dublin on Thursday, November 12th. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe threats were received on Friday morning. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationGardaí said they were aware of threats against media organisations in Ireland and the threats would be investigated (thejournal.ie)
- investigationGardaí including members of the Armed Response Unit attended the scene. (rte.ie)
- investigationThe site was declared safe around lunchtime. (rte.ie)
- investigationGarda sniffer dogs carried out searches of the buildings. (rte.ie)
- investigationGardaí said they were aware of a threat made against media organisations in Ireland and Europe and the threats would be investigated. (rte.ie)
- investigationGardai are investigating the incident. (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationA Garda presence was on the RTÉ campus on Friday morning. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe threats are the subject of an active investigation by An Garda Síochána. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationSniffer dogs were on the Montrose campus as gardaí continued to search. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe Gardaí, working in co-operation with the Defence Forces and cyber and aviation authorities, are working to establish who is responsible. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationInvestigators had not yet established whether the threats originated from individuals or represented a coordinated attack (gript.ie)
- investigationGardaí assessed the threat as not credible (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationGardaí are not advising any educational establishment to evacuate (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationAn Garda Síochána is aware of a generic communication sent to educational establishments on 11 November 2026 (dublinlive.ie)
- investigationGardaí are engaging with a number of educational establishments (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe government said it seems likely the incidents are a coordinated campaign of disruption (thejournal.ie)
- otherThe incidents follow a series of hoax bomb threats against European airlines, including an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to a French military air base on Thursday (thejournal.ie)
- otherRTÉ moved to pre-recorded programmes as a precaution. (rte.ie)
- otherMediahaus and Independent News Media evacuated their offices on Talbot Street in Dublin city centre. (rte.ie)
- otherVirgin Media received the threat but did not evacuate and continued to broadcast. (rte.ie)
- otherThe Government said authorities are working to establish who is responsible for the threats. (rte.ie)
- otherThe threat purportedly comes from those behind hoax bomb threats that affected at least 27 flights across Europe. (rte.ie)
- otherSome Aer Lingus and Ryanair flights were among those impacted. (rte.ie)
- otherLt Gen Rossa Mulcahy said Ireland is not immune to hybrid threats. (rte.ie)
- otherGardaí had been aware of the risk of disruptive threats during Ireland's EU Presidency. (rte.ie)
- otherA heavy garda presence was at the scene. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe incidents followed bomb threats to airlines across Europe on Thursday. (irishtimes.com)
- otherThe Government stated it seems likely the threats are a co-ordinated campaign of disruption. (irishtimes.com)
- otherFianna Fáil MEP Barry Andrews said the threats were similar to what occurred in Denmark before the EPC summit. (irishtimes.com)
- otherO'Callaghan commended Gardaí for their swift response (gript.ie)
- otherO'Callaghan chaired the annual EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum in Montenegro that week (gript.ie)
- otherHarris noted recent scares had targeted airlines (gript.ie)
- otherHoax bomb threats targeted 21 flights across Europe on Thursday (gript.ie)
- otherThe airline alerts affected Irish operators Ryanair and Aer Lingus (gript.ie)
- otherAround 160 schools in Northern Ireland were targeted by hoax bomb threats the previous month (gript.ie)
- otherThe incidents followed bomb threats sent to airlines across Europe in recent days. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe threats arrived ahead of a week when Ireland would host two major European political summits. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherIreland is hosting the summits as part of its six-month presidency of the EU Council. (dublinlive.ie)
- otherThe email was signed in the same name as similar warnings sent the previous week (dublinlive.ie)
- otherDeputy Garda Commissioner Paul Cleary provided guidance on responding to bomb threats (dublinlive.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 11 Nov2026Gardai 'not advising' schools to evacuate after hoax bomb threat
Reports a new email in the Mikhail Andropov bomb threat series sent on 11 November 2026 to nearly 400 schools and media outlets. Gardaí assessed it as not credible. Three Ballyfermot primary schools evacuated. Deputy Garda Commissioner Paul Cleary issued public guidance on responding to bomb threats. Councillor Daithí Doolan called the targeting of primary schools 'sinister and totally unacceptable'.
suspect, Mikhail Andropov, namedMikhail Andropovother, Daithí DoolanDaithí Doolanother, Paul ClearyPaul Cleary - 6 Nov2026'The clock is ticking': Sinister email sent to RTE in full
Provides the full text of the bomb threat email, including the sender's self-identified name 'Mikhail Andropov,' claims of connection to recent airline bomb threats across Europe, and the threat of a 'new wave of attacks' ahead of Ireland hosting two major European political summits.
other, Mikhail AndropovMikhail Andropov - 6 Nov2026O'Callaghan links media bomb scares to European hybrid attacks - Gript
Adds the Justice Minister's formal response, his call for EU-level coordination, and details on which specific media organisations were evacuated (Irish Independent, TodayFM, NewstalkFM, Sky News, RTÉ). Also records comments from Taoiseach Martin and Tánaiste Harris, and notes the threats followed 21 airline bomb scares across Europe the previous day.
- 6 Nov2026Bomb threats at RTÉ, Irish Independent and Newstalk linked to pattern of ‘hybrid attacks’
Adds details on the evacuations at Mediahuis and Newstalk, the Minister for Justice's framing of the threats as 'hybrid attacks,' the connection to the EPC summit in Dublin on 12 November, the email also being sent to UK outlets (walesonline.co.uk, Sunday Mirror), sniffer dogs searching the RTÉ Montrose campus, and the Government statement describing the threats as a 'co-ordinated campaign of disruption.'
- 6 Nov2026'The clock is ticking': Sinister email sent to RTÉ in full
Provides the full text of the bomb threat email, identifying the sender as 'Mikhail Andropov' and linking the threat to recent airline bomb threats across Europe. Also notes the threats arrived ahead of two major European political summits hosted by Ireland during its EU Council presidency.
- 6 Nov2026RTÉ staff evacuated after bomb threat- live updates
Live blog covering the evacuation of RTÉ studios and other media offices following a bomb threat received by email; scores of other media outlets across Ireland and Britain were also warned.
- 6 Nov2026Gardaí sweep RTÉ headquarters in Dublin after bomb threat
Adds details on the evacuation, Armed Response Unit and sniffer dog searches, statements from RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst and the Government, the Taoiseach's comments, and the connection to hoax bomb threats affecting 27 flights across Europe. Confirms the scene was declared safe around lunchtime.
- 1 Nov2026Virgin Media kept Ireland AM live on air and didn't evacuate studio after receiving bomb threat
Details Virgin Media's response to the bomb threat: the broadcaster kept Ireland AM on air and did not evacuate, unlike RTÉ and other media organisations. The government described the incidents as 'a coordinated campaign of disruption'.
Changed after publication
facts outlets added, removed or correctedrte.ie, 6 Nov 2026, 19:37: Gardaí sweep RTÉ headquarters in Dublin after bomb threat
- RemovedTaoiseach Micheál Martin said the threats to RTÉ and other media organisations are 'worrying' and the Government is taking the threat seriously.
- RemovedGardaí and the Defence Forces are working to establish who is behind the threats.
- RemovedIt has not yet been determined if the threats were made by an individual or a more coordinated group.
- RemovedThe State has skilled experts working to identify those responsible.
- AddedLieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy, Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, said it is too early to say whether the threats and a cyberattack on refrigeration systems across Europe are interrelated.
- AddedLt Gen Mulcahy said Ireland is not immune to hybrid threats.
- AddedMulcahy was speaking at a conference on security and defence at Dublin Castle.
- AddedThe event was hosted by Oireachtas committees as part of Ireland's EU Presidency.
irishtimes.com, 6 Nov 2026, 14:35: Bomb threats at RTÉ, Irish Independent and Newstalk linked to pattern of ‘hybrid attacks’
- AddedSky News confirmed it was also targeted with the threatening email
dublinlive.ie, 6 Nov 2026, 12:34: RTÉ staff evacuated after bomb threat- live updates
- RemovedSinéad Gibney, Social Democrats TD for Dublin Rathdown, condemned threats to media and referenced evacuations at RTÉ, Newstalk and the Irish Independent
dublinlive.ie, 6 Nov 2026, 11:33: RTÉ staff evacuated after bomb threat- live updates
- RemovedNewstalk and Mediahuis staff were evacuated from their offices at Talbot Street and Marconi House in Dublin
- AddedSinéad Gibney, Social Democrats TD for Dublin Rathdown, condemned the threats to media
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