Violent burglary suspect believed to have travelled to area to target local residents

A DUBLIN-based criminal with multiple burglary convictions is being questioned in a west Cork garda station following an aggravated robbery that left a man in his 50s injured.

Detectives believe the man travelled from Dublin specifically for the purpose of conducting a series of raids on homes with cash and gifts collected for the festive season being the primary target.

However, the burglar was detained by the combined efforts of the family of the householder and Bandon gardaí following the attempted burglary on Thursday night.

Gardaí were alerted following an incident in a rural property between Ballineen and Enniskeane in west Cork around 11pm.

The householder was asleep on his couch having watched TV when he was suddenly confronted by the raider.

The robber had apparently entered the house through the back door.

It is understood the man demanded cash before striking the householder over the head with a cane.

The householder suffered minor injuries but was deeply shocked by the incident.

He was treated at the scene but ultimately did not require medical attention at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

One Garda source stressed that the injuries involved are not serious, but that the man was left deeply shocked.

Luckily, the man’s family were in the vicinity at the time and, when they became aware of the attempted raid, alerted gardaí and helped to catch the robber.

It is understood the man attempted to flee on foot but was pursued and caught.

The raider, who is aged in his late 40s, was detained and taken to Bandon garda station.

He can be detained for up to 24 hours.

It is expected that he will appear before a special sitting of Cork District Court before Christmas.

The man is well known to gardaí.

He has a large number of convictions, mostly for theft and related offences, in the greater Dublin area.

Gardaí are investigating if the man targeted west Cork specifically after he travelled down from Dublin.

The burglary comes just days after a visually impaired farmer was pinned to the floor, viciously beaten with sticks and threatened with a knife as three masked men ransacked his home for his life savings in Co Offaly.

Joseph Waters, a 77-year-old bachelor, was sitting at his kitchen table in his rural bungalow in the Kildangan area of Durrow, when the gang broke in at around 8pm on Monday.

His three attackers are described as 5ft 6ins in height, in their 20s, and with local accents.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses who may have been in the area or travelling on the Tullamore to Clara road, between 7.30pm and 8.30pm, and noticed anything suspicious.