Rathmines Road in Dublin has reopened to traffic after an incident in which a man barricaded himself inside a property. The incident happened on the Lower Rathmines Road this morning, with a large garda presence in attendance. Gardaí attended the scene, with a man in his 30s arrested as part of the operation. Restrictions on the road, which had been closed for a number of hours, have now been lifted.
A garda spokesperson confirmed the incident this afternoon following a media blackout: "Earlier this morning, Wednesday, 12th September 2024, a man barricaded himself inside a property on the Rathmines Road Lower in Dublin 6. An Garda Síochána initiated its Operational Command protocol, appointing an On-Scene Commander. Local Garda negotiators from the National Negotiators Unit, along with several other Garda units, attended the scene. A cordon was put in place. The incident was resolved shortly after midday following negotiations."
They also confirmed that an arrest had been made following the incident: "The male involved, aged in his 30s, was arrested at the scene as part of ongoing investigations into alleged offences contrary to the Non Fatal Offences against the Person Act. He is currently detained at a Garda Station in the DMR. The road has since re-opened to traffic. Investigations are ongoing."
The Incident
The incident began this morning after gardaí arrived at the property in Rathmines to detain the suspect in relation to an alleged threat to kill made against a woman. The suspect, who is aged in his 30s, barricaded himself into his house and also made references to having a firearm. Armed units were called to the scene along with trained negotiators while the surrounding area was cordoned off. Later this morning members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU), the specialist tactical unit, were deployed to the scene and subsequently arrested the man.
The Response
Gardaí cordoned off the road near Observatory Lane during the incident earlier this morning. Garda negotiators were called in along with several other Garda units. The incident was resolved shortly after midday following negotiations. A man in his 30s was arrested at the scene as part of ongoing investigations into alleged offences contrary to the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act. He is currently being held at a Garda station in Dublin. The road has now reopened to traffic. The Garda investigation is ongoing.
Aftermath and Investigation
An initial search of the property did not result in any firearm being recovered and gardaí believe the claim by the man that he was armed with a gun was false. He is currently being detained on suspicion of making threats to kill at a Dublin garda station. The man, aged in his 30s, barricaded himself in a property on Rathmines Road Lower in Dublin 6 on Thursday morning. Gardaí initiated its Operational Command protocol. Local Garda negotiators along with several other Garda units attended the scene. A cordon was put in place. The incident was resolved shortly after 12pm following negotiations. The man involved was arrested at the scene as part of ongoing investigations into alleged offences contrary to the Non Fatal Offences against the Person Act. He is currently detained at a Garda station in the Dublin region. The road has since re-opened to traffic. Investigations are ongoing, gardaí said.
A Tense Standoff
Gardai called to an address on the Rathmines Road Lower earlier this morning in an effort to arrest a man on suspicion of making threats to his former partner. However, the man barricaded himself into the property and refused to cooperate with Gardai at the scene - causing a standoff that lasted several hours. A media blackout was also requested for the duration of the incident and the road was closed off. A number of units, including armed gardai, were then called to the scene to try and negotiate and get the man out of the property safely. The standoff continued for several hours but was resolved at around midday when armed gardai made their way into the property. After gardai gained entry to the property, the man was apprehended and arrested for the alleged threats.
In a statement, gardai said the force “initiated its Operational Command protocol, appointing an On-Scene Commander,” to the scene. “Local Garda negotiators from the National Negotiators Unit, along with several other Garda units, attended the scene. A cordon was put in place. The incident was resolved shortly after midday following negotiations. The male involved, aged in his 30s, was arrested at the scene as part of ongoing investigations into alleged offences contrary to the Non Fatal Offences against the Person Act. He is currently detained at a Garda Station in the DMR.” Gardai say the road has since re-opened to traffic.
A Day of Disruption
Rathmines Road is closed at the bridge as traffic is being diverted Grove road and Canal Road. Motorists have been urged to drive with care. We will bring you all the latest traffic and commuter updates on our live blog below. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
