Octogenarian held at gunpoint

Man in his 80's held at gunpoint


Áine Ryan

A GARDA Superintendent has praised the ‘intelligence, presence-of-mind and resilience’ of a Westport octogenarian who was last week held at gun point in his home while robbed.
Supt Mick Murray told The Mayo News last night that the violent robbery happened around 10pm on Tuesday, November 24 last, when four masked men broke down the front door of the elderly man’s home at Aittireesh.
While Supt Murray declined to identify the man, it is known locally that the victim was well-known retired butcher, Mr Timmy McGreal.
“The victim heard a noise outside his house and when he approached the front door to investigate it, the door was kicked in. Four men all wearing balaclavas pushed into the house. One of them was wielding a hand gun. He held the victim at gunpoint while the others ransacked the house,” Supt Murray revealed.
“They escaped with a small amount of money,” he added.
Supt Murray said that, in a separate but possibly related incident, a white Mitsubishi Mirage, registration 99D88618 was stolen at Hoban’s carpark in Castlebar sometime between 5.15 and 8.15pm on the same evening.
“This was sighted in the Westport area and has since been located in Dublin. There is a possible link,” the superintendent said.
Other sources have told The Mayo News that a car, with this description, drove in the wrong direction up James Street on the night in question and may also have drove to The  Cottages, on the upper Quay Road.
Regarding Mr McGreal’s measured response to the break-in, Supt Murray highly praised his ‘very sober’ reaction.
“I am very relieved to be able to say that the man incurred no injuries. He did not resist the orders of his attackers and showed great intelligence, presence-of-mind and resilience,” Supt Murray observed.
The Westport garda chief also said he was ‘very concerned about such a heinous crime’ having been committed in the community.
“We are putting large resources into the detection and solution of this crime and are very grateful to all the members of the public who have come forward with information. While we do not have a definite lead yet, we are building evidence towards a solution,” he continued.
Responding to the incident, Cllr Christy Hyland, a former garda, urged that people be vigilant. 
“We are getting to the stage now when we all have to know who our neighbours are and look out for them, especially if they are vulnerable. I would advise people that if they don’t know their neighbours to find out who they are they should make a special effort.”