OVERNIGHT SMASH AND GRAB AT TAGHMON BANK

ALTHOUGH the streets around the village were quiet owing to the advice to stay at home, there was a flurry of activity at the Bank of Ireland building in Taghmon on Thursday morning as it became apparent that it had been the victim of an overnight raid, which took place late on St Patrick’s night or in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

While gardaí around the county are bracing themselves to assist in the inevitable containment efforts for covid-19, they were called to examine the scene of the overnight robbery at the bank in Taghmon early on Wednesday morning.

They were met at the scene by various security and bank personnel and found that raiders had smashed in the side windows of the bank to gain access to the main office and completely ransacked the building once inside.

All of the wires were cut and some cash was taken from drawers in the office although neither the main safe nor the ATM machine were breached.

It’s reported that there was a delay between the thieves gaining access to the bank and gardaí being notified by the security companies, but this is something that’s currently being analysed along with CCTV footage of the entire incident.

A garda spokesman said that judging by the footage, it appears to have been two men who took part in the raid.

‘Relatively speaking there was very little taken,’ the garda spokesman said. ‘I would say this crime was largely opportunistic in nature. If we were dealing with one of the larger gangs that we’ve seen up the country, there’s no way the ATM machine would have been left behind.’

Gardaí say that the CCTV footage is currently being analysed and a complete examination of the crime scene was carried out on Wednesday morning. A full investigation is ongoing and they are hopeful of making arrests.

In a statement, Bank of Ireland said that the branch would remain closed until damage is assessed.

‘We’re engaging with An Garda Síochána regarding an incident at our Taghmon branch,’ a spokesperson said.

‘ The branch is closed for an assessment of damage. It is our aim to re-open as soon as possible, and we will provide an update on this in the coming days. We’re sorry for any inconvenience to customers. The nearest branches are Wexford town and Rosslare and these are open as normal.’

When asked for confirmation that the ATM and main safe hadn’t been breached and for an estimation of the amount that was taken, the spokesperson replied that they do not comment on security matters and would be adding nothing further.

This is not the first time that the bank in Taghmon has been targeted.

In 2004, it was infamously the victim of a botched raid by a ‘ hole in the wall gang’ who ripped the ATM from the wall with a JCB causing huge damage to the building. The hydraulic system on the JCB subsequently failed, causing the thieves to abandon their venture, leaving the ATM buried beneath a pile of rubble.