A NUMBER of West Cork schools including MICC in Dunmanway, Derryclough National School, a school in Mizen and the Star of The Sea National School in Passage West received fake email bomb threats on Wednesday morning as a series of emails targeted schools across the county and in Cork city.

Some schools were forced to evacuate after receiving the email bomb threats but were soon able to return to classes after gardaí confirmed that they were hoax emails.

Students and staff at MICC were not forced to evacuate, while parents of children attending Star of the Sea Primary School in Passage West received an email indicating that the school had received a “threatening email this morning.”

“We have evacuated the building and are checking the building for a suspicious ‘plastic bag’ (as per email). We are in the process of alerting the emergency services,” the email from the school said.

A Garda Síochána spokesperson  said they are aware of a generic communication that has been sent to a number of educational establishments today,

“An Garda Síochána assess this threat as not credible and is not advising any educational establishment to evacuate. Gardaí are engaging with a number of educational establishments.”

Speaking  on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner Paul Cleary said: “In response to recent increased activity in hoax and non-credible bomb threats.

If you receive a bomb threat by email, letter or any other message, contact An Garda Síochána immediately by calling 999.

Provide as much detail as possible about the threat and the communication you have received.

Once notified, our Garda Regional Control Centre will assess the credibility of the threat and following that assessment, the Control Centre and/or the Gardaí responding will advise you on the most appropriate course of action.”