ONE OF the stranger aspects of the upcoming high-profile visits is the proliferation of “spray-on spanners” on manhole and shore coverings in Dublin and further afield.
The spanner shapes are a result of spanner-shaped stencils, or actual spanners, being painted over with yellow spray to indicate a shore covering has been checked as part of the security operation ahead of the visits by the Queen and US president Barack Obama.
The spanners mean a particular shore covering has been lifted and checked for any explosives or other dangerous items and sealed, according to Garda sources.
Gardaí say the underground network of sewers and shore coverings all have to be checked, not only in case an explosive device has been planted but also in case guns have been stashed there.
“It wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility that somebody could be hiding under there and planning to move around the city in the tunnels to carry out an attack when we’ve secured the roads,” said one source.
But why a spanner of all things? “Why not a spanner?” said the Garda source. “We love confusing people.”
