Ireland's national broadcaster was taken off the air by a hoax on Friday, November 6.

According to the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald (PA News Agency), RTÉ received a threatening email at its Donnybrook campus in south Dublin, and gardaí were called to the scene with sniffer dogs deployed in searches.

Presenter David McCullagh told listeners the threat warned of a bomb that would explode within 45 minutes. Presenter Sarah McInerney said the sender claimed to be part of a group behind recent threats against airlines and claimed an operative had planted a device in the building.

Staff, including radio and television presenters, were told to leave the studio buildings, and children in a creche on site were also evacuated.

The PA-reported account describes a chaotic but controlled morning. RTÉ Radio One went off air around 9am, replacing Today With David McCullagh with a pre-recorded music programme.

When the show returned later in the morning, McCullagh presented from a mobile broadcasting truck in the car park as gardaí continued searching the buildings.

RTÉ director-general Kevin Bakhurst joined staff outside the vehicle and, per the report, said: "On the basis of the information we had, we decided that we wanted to put the safety of the staff first and evacuate the buildings." He called it a "disgraceful attack on the media, on free media."

Staff were allowed back later in the day and full broadcasting resumed.

The alert landed at the end of a week in which Irish media outlets and European airlines received hoax bomb alerts.

The Herald's report says Taoiseach Micheál Martin appeared on RTÉ One's flagship Late Late Show on Friday night, telling host and viewers the state remains confident about next week's summits.

He said: "We're confident that will go off safely," and described what he called the largest ever security operation in the history of the state — larger than a US presidential visit — with more than 50 prime ministers arriving for the European Political Community summit on Thursday, followed by an informal EU Council meeting on Friday.

He said the hoaxes to media outlets, airlines and supermarket refrigeration systems were co-ordinated, and while too early to say whether there is a Russian connection, said increases in hybrid attacks across Europe are undoubtedly linked to Russia.

The report says Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said the threats are being taken "very seriously" and are being investigated by gardaí, while Tánaiste Simon Harris told Cork 96FM the Government is "alive" to the risks.

The NUJ's Seamus Dooley called the threat a "deeply disturbing" attack on press freedom. Next week, a Garda work-to-rule action has been directed for the duration of the summits, and public sector workers plan a nationwide strike on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the lighter TV moment of the night came in America: The Spun's Chris Rosvoglou, republished by Yahoo Sports, reported that Caitlin Clark gifted Jimmy Fallon a Taylor Swift-inspired pair of Caitlin 1s with "2NITE SHOW" friendship bracelets on The Tonight Show.