ARTILLERY SHELLS fired over 100 years ago from British army viewing towers on Rossbeigh beach, Co Kerry, were made safe by an Army bomb disposal team this weekend.
Locals say the long sand spit was a popular practice area for the British army in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and activity increased during the first World War.
Up to six large shells, some unexploded, were discovered when Killarney man Aidan Forde went for a run on the sand spit.
The two-mile strand is a popular walking and running area but has suffered from weather and sea erosion in recent years. An Army spokesman believes weather probably disturbed the area in recent days, exposing the shells.
Local man Michael O’Connor (42) said artillery shells are not unusual on the beach. There had been a number of British army towers in the area and the army would shoot from them as target practice. “They would shoot inside the dunes also,” Mr O’Connor said.
The area was cordoned off by gardaí on Saturday. An Army bomb disposal team attached to Collins Barracks in Cork arrived to carry out two controlled explosions to make the area safe.