Kiskeam great grandad shows true mettle in face of three armed raiders
83 YEAR OLD DENIS HAILED A HERO AS CCTV FOOTAGE GOES VIRAL ACROSS THE WORLD
An 83 year old North Cork man has been praised for his bravery and hailed as hero as his exploits have gone worldwide after he helped foil a robbery by three masked and armed raiders at a bookie’s shop near Cork city at the weekend.
Kiskeam native Denis O’Connor didn’t hesitate to come to the assistance of manager Tim Murphy when three raiders burst into the Bar One Racing bookies shop at Crestfield in Glanmire, brandishing two hammers and what appeared to be a shotgun. Mr O’Connor’s actions have since gone viral online with thousands watching the CCTV video around the world - including across the States and in Russia, where it is trending.
This week, Mr Murphy paid tribute to the father of five, who is also a grandfather and a great grandfather, as he told The Neil Prendeville Show on Red FM how the three raiders were foiled by the Kiskeam native’s bravery.
“I was just being threatened by the two fellows with the hammers. Denis tackled one of them and I thought ‘I will have to tackle this fellow as well’. I tried to grab the hammer. It was a total blur. They totally backed down. I remember Denis just shouting: ‘Ye are cowards. Ye are total cowards’, said Mr Murphy.
“The next thing, Denis was there and was tackling one of them. He ignored the fellow with the gun and just went for the two inside the counter. I am very grateful for his help and I assure you Denis will be well looked after. He is one of my regulars and he is a great man.
“Denis is a total hero. When I saw him taking one of them on he totally inspired me. He is very fit. He is a lovely man.
“I know him well. I know him so well he came to my aid. He wasn’t looking after the bookies, he was looking after me. I could never thank him enough.”
Security footage of the raid, which happened at around 6.30pm on Saturday, showed one of the masked raiders jumping over the counter while another came around the side and threatened Mr Murphy with a hammer as they demanded that he open the safe when Mr O’Connor stepped in.
Speaking to The Irish Sun, Mr O’Connor, who trains regularly in a Cork gym and walks and swims several times a week, told how the gang came into the shop: “They came flying through the front door. They were screaming and shouting at the four or five of us in the shop,” he said.
“You can either run and hide or take a stand, and I took a stand. The two with the hammers had jumped in and were threatening Tim, the manager, and I decided to go and help him,” said Mr O’Connor, a retired fitter-mechanic.
“The other one had a shotgun which he pointed at us. At first I thought it was a joke, a gimmick, but I quickly realised it was serious.
“Tim, the manager, is a very nice young man and I couldn’t just not help him. I ignored the fellow with the gun Photo: John Delea and I went behind the counter. I just didn’t think about what I was doing. Sometimes you can just sit down and do nothing or you can stand up to people like these and that’s what I did.
“It all happened so fast, but I think I hit one of the men and tackled him. Despite my age I managed to get the better of him. At the same time Tim was doing similarly with the other fellow and they must have decided they had enough because they ran out.
“One of them tripped and fell as he was leaving and I gave him a kick up the backside. That really felt good,” said Mr O’Connor, whose heroic exploits ended up not just on RTE and Virgin Media but also on Sky News in the UK, ABC and CBS in the US, Russia
Today and media in Australia.
Mr O’Connor said he had never been caught up in a robbery or anything violent before and is hoping this will be the first and the last time. “I am very fit. When I go to the gym I don’t waste time, I get on with my exercising and I finish off with a swim in the pool. I am fit out,” he said.
Meanwhile, Garda Supt Mick Comyns of Mayfield Garda Station renewed an appeal for information on the case and while he commended Mr O’Connor and Mr Murphy, he urged people to exercise caution in such circumstances.
“Two of them had hammers, which are quite plain to be seen on CCTV. The other had what looks like a sawnoff shotgun. It’s good to see that the robbery was prevented but the consequences could have been a whole lot worse. Obviously, our advice to people would be ‘do not take on people who come in to commit a crime in any premises’, said Supt Comyns.
“If they are going to commit a crime they will be on a high or there will be adrenaline rush and they can do anything so it is very important that people stay calm and, to a degree, stay out of it.”
Anyone who has information relating to a black Audi A4 car which was seen leaving the area at speed around the time of the robbery is asked to contact gardaí at Mayfield Garda Station on (021) 455 8510.