West Mayo schools among hundreds to receive 'not credible' bomb threat email
The Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, confirmed that a number of schools had received the email, with gardaí advising schools that the threat is assessed as not credible and that there is no need to evacuate.
At least two schools in West Mayo were among hundreds across the country that received a threatening email on Wednesday morning, with gardaí assessing the threat as ‘not credible’.
The Minister for Education and Youth, Hildegarde Naughton, confirmed that a number of schools had received the email. “We are aware that a number of schools have received a threatening email this morning,” she said in a statement.
The Mayo News understands that both Sancta Maria School in Louisburgh and Gaelscoil na Cruaiche in Westport were among the schools to receive the email.
Minister Naughton said she had spoken with the Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, and that officials in her department had been in contact with An Garda Síochána at senior level and were continuing to liaise closely with them.
“The safety and wellbeing of students, staff and school communities remains our highest priority and my department will continue to work closely with An Garda Síochána on this matter,” she said.
Gardaí have advised the Department of Education, and are advising schools, that the threat is assessed as ‘not credible’ and that there is no need to evacuate.
In communications to the schools, An Garda Síochána said it “is aware of a generic communication that has been sent to a number of educational establishments on Wednesday 11th November 2026.” It added that it “assesses this threat as not credible and is not advising any educational establishment to evacuate.”
Schools that have received the email have been asked to contact the emergency services on 999 and to follow the advice of gardaí.
Minister Naughton said gardaí had received a large volume of phone calls and would liaise with each school in turn, noting that this may take some time given the number of calls.
The emails today follow on from a bomb scare email sent to a number of schools across Mayo, which was sent on Wednesday, October 14.
They also follow on from bomb threats sent to media organisations such as RTÉ and the Irish Independent last Friday.