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 Seven men, charged last night with serious aggravated burglary at a home in Co Tipperary, committed this week, have appeared at a special sitting of Cashel District Court today.
The seven men, some of which were already on bail for other serious offences, including possession of a firearm and assaulting a Garda, have now been named as Patrick Joyce, aged 21, from Beaumont Hall, Beaumont Woods, Dublin 9; John Joyce, aged 19, from Lentisk Lawn, Donaghmede, Dublin; Michael McDonagh, aged 22, from Tara Lawns, Belcamp Lane, Coolock, Dublin 5; Thomas Flynn, aged19, Moatview Avenue, Coolock, Dublin 5; Donal O’Hara, aged 21, from Glin Park, Coolock, Dublin 5; Dean Byrne, aged 21, from Cabra Park, Dublin 7; and Patrick Gately, aged 26, from Primrose Grove, Darndale, Dublin.
Gardaí had yesterday applied to the District Court in Cashel for permission to detain the men for a third 24-hour period, allowing for their detention for the full 72 hours available to Gardaí under present legislation.
Following their arrest early on Thursday morning last, about €1,300 in cash, together with jewellery taken from the house and two shotguns had been found in their possession. Gardaí investigations now believe that this gang left their base in Coolock, north Dublin, driving a Saab and a V W Passat, around midnight on Wednesday last. The Saab vehicle appears to have broken down near Urlingford, on the Tipperary/Kilkenny border, forcing the gang members to cram into the Passat.
When they eventually reached the home of Mr Mark and Mrs Emma Corcoran, at Burnchurch, near Killenaule, they tried to break open the front door using crowbars. Failing in this attempt they then broke the front living room double glazed window and on entering, then threatened and assaulted the couple using shotguns before then tying them up, ransacking the house and stealing cash and the other property.
The gang were arrested within six hours of this attack and charged last night with aggravated burglary. They will now appear in court again on November 28th next, having been refused bail.
 Gardaí have successfully smashed a travelling gang they believe responsible for a spate of burglaries around the country, following a break-in at the home of Mark and Emma Corcoran, in Burnchurch, (off the Killenaule – Cashel road), Killenaule, near Thurles in Co Tipperary, around 3:00am this morning.
It is understood that up to seven men from the Coolock area of north Co Dublin, aged in their 20’s, are now being detained by Gardaí, following the incident and same have been transferred to stations in Tipperary, where they are being held under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act, which allows for their detention, without charge, for up to three days.
During the armed robbery, a businessman was assaulted resulting in a broken nose, having been struck by a shotgun butt, while his wife and their three children, all girls under the age of 8, were also in the house at the time. The parents were tied up during their horrific ordeal, as members of the gang robbed cash, jewellery and other property from their family home. The gang also stole the family’s Kia 4×4 vehicle and using another car, latter believed stolen earlier in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny, then fled the scene.
Shortly afterwards Gardaí intercepted a Volkswagen Passat at about 4.30am near Naas and detained five men. The family’s 4X4 was later stopped with the aid of the Garda Air Support Unit latter brought in to keep track of the vehicle, together with the Armed Intervention Unit, resulting in the detention of the other two men near Bewley’s Hotel at Newlands Cross. Outbound and Inbound lanes at the busy Newlands Cross junction were closed for some time following the incident, with early morning motorists warned of severe delays. The area has since been cleared.
Cash and other stolen property together with two shotguns were recovered by Gardaí, as a result of searches of both vehicles.
This Dublin based outfit are one of a number of gangs identified and targeted under Operation Fiacla, which was set up some eighteen months ago by Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan; it’s target, to combat the wave of burglaries nationwide and is regarded by senior Garda officers today as significant in their fight against rural gangland crime.
 Cattle rustling has started again, striking at Irish midland rural areas. The Gardaí and the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) are advising farmers to be extra watchful, especially in relation to any outlying owned or rented farmland, following a spate of recent Wild West style cattle rustling incidents. These incidents have happened here in Tipperary, Galway, Limerick and other midland counties.
Cattle rustling, until recent years, was mainly an isolated Irish North/South border area phenomenon; however cattle thieves are now making massive profits stealing stock from isolated farmsteads in the heartland of Ireland, striking usually under the cover of darkness.
On Monday, October 21st last cattle to the value of €8,000 were believed stolen from a farm near Curran’s Cross, Mountmellick, Co Laois, during the night. Some 15 cows were also taken by cattle rustlers from a farm at Newport, Co Tipperary, last January. A similar robbery was also reported in the nearby area of Castleconnell, Co Limerick.
With prime beef cattle, near finishing, and worth up to €2,000 a head, cattle thieves can make massive profits stealing stock particularly from isolated farmsteads. Since these stolen cattle cannot be legally sent to licensed slaughter houses, it is presumed they are instead being taken to isolated slaughter houses to be butchered and sold out of vans with the carcases later dumped or buried in other remote locations.
Gardaí are requesting farmers to ensure that gates to outside farms are locked and fully secure, thus make it as difficult as possible for thieves to remove animals. They are also asking late night rural motorists to make careful note of persons travelling at night with horse transport trucks, cattle trucks or other such transport vehicles.
Note: Here in Thurles efforts are being made to further revitalise the existing Neighbourhood Watch Schemes in Thurles town, particularly coming up to Christmas. The Thurles Neighbourhood Watch schemes has been of significant benefit to Thurles Gardaí in their fight against house burglaries, minor crime and also ensuring that elderly people, living alone feel protected and safe. So if you are interested in contributing to your local town community, through Neighbourhood Watch, you are invited to attend at Thurles Garda Station on Wednesday next November 20th 2013, at 7.30pm. (Special Note: This Wednesdays meeting is for Thurles town residents only, however existing outlying regional Neighbourhood Watch Schemes can also expect to be visited in the coming months.)
Remember partnership between An Garda Síochána and the public, works on the basis that every member of a community can help to improve the quality of life in their area, by keeping a look out for their neighbours and immediately reporting any suspicious or unusual activities to the Gardaí.
For further information on Thurles Neighbourhood Watch, contact Garda Chris Verling at Thurles Garda Station Tel: 0504-25100 or Mobile: 083 4156785.
Did you pass along the roadway known locally as “Borroway,” (Boheravoroon), latter situated between the junctions of Kickham Street on the Dublin Road and Mitchel Street on the Moyne Road on November 14th (last Thursday)? If you did, can you recall noticing any unusual or suspicious activity in this area?
Thieves broke into a house in Borroway, situated in an area close to the Tarmon Drive entrance, sometime between 3:00 pm on Thursday afternoon and 11.15 pm on Thursday night last.
Thurles Gardaí are urgently seeking your help and asking anyone who may have observed persons acting suspiciously or who noted any strange vehicles in this area, to contact them immediately.
Thurles Gardaí can be contacted locally on Tel: 0504-25100 or on the Garda Confidential Line Tel: 1800 666 111.
Top level Irish Garda officers will begin from tomorrow a two-day crime summit in the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary.
Their aim is to discuss nationwide operations against organised gang crime, while also maintaining public policing in the face of continuing Government cuts. It is expected that the targeting of drug gangs, travelling burglary gangs and gun crime will be amongst the more pressing issues to be discussed.
The conference, gets under-way as news emerges that a dedicated operation to reduce burglaries and catch the most prolific criminals has seen some 4,000 criminal cases reach the courts. In the latest data obtained from ‘Operation Fiacla,’ some 6,972 arrests have taken place, since its inception back in the spring of last year to the end of last month, accounting for some 3,971 criminal charges.
While many day to day break-ins are simply opportunistic burglary, intelligence gathered shows clearly that other crimes are committed on a full commercial scale, often by gangs using fast cars while seeking to offset the effect of detection and seizure of drugs and drug mony. Because gangs have a national reach, it is crucial for officers from across the State to meet regularly to discuss current operations and share intelligence.
New structures for community policing will also be a major part of discussions over Wednesday and Thursday in Templemore.
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