An Army bomb disposal team made safe a pipe bomb in Limerick city this afternoon.
Four people, two men and two women aged in their 20s and 30s, were arrested earlier at an apartment complex where the device was discovered.
The Defence Forces team from Cork deployed to Upper Cecil Street in Limerick following a request from the Garda. The area between Catherine Street and Dominic Street had been cordoned off and local residents were evacuated to a safe location.
The team arrived at 11.25am and examined the improvised device, which was discovered in the apartment complex during a planned Garda operation this morning. The device was found in a ground floor apartment of the four-storey building some time before 9am.
It was made safe at the scene without the need for a controlled explosion and taken to a secure location for technical examination.
The remains of the device will be handed over to the Garda to assist with its investigations. The scene was declared safe at 12.10pm.
The four arrested are being held at Roxboro, Henry Street and Mayorstone Garda stations under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. They can be held for up to 72 hours.
Today's discovery comes after gardaí found two pipe bombs in the Castletroy area of Limerick last week.
The suspicious devices were found on January 10th on a side road close to the entrance of a halting site on the Dublin Road.
This is the 13th viable IED dealt with by the bomb disposal team so far this year in 11 call-outs.