Tradersfacingruin followingbankraid

January 1984

LOCAL traders who lost thousands of pounds in the Northern Bank robbery are furious after being told they will have to bear the loss themselves.

The decision was announced by a bank spokesman on Wednesday when he stated that deposits were not their responsibility until they were transferred from the night safe to the customer’s account.

Theives who broke into the bank during the Christmas holidays took the money from the night safe used by customers to lodge business takings.

The traders have refused to accept the bank’s decision and they responded by calling a meeting on Wednesday night to decide on a plan of action.

The meeting was closed t the press and the traders said they were reluctant to make any public comment until all channels of negotiation with the banks had been exhausted.

As the Bray People went to press the traders were attempting to arrange a meeting with directors of the bank.

Should negotiations with the bank fail to bear fruit it is understood the traders will take legal action in a bid to recoup their losses. It is still not known exactly how much was taken in the raid, but estimates have put the amount at anything from £100,000 to £250,000.

For most of the traders involved the losses are potentially ruinous as the stolen cash represented a badly needed boost from Christmas time takings.

In one case it is reported that £100,000 was lost by a single buisness, while a second has stated a loss of £19,000.

Several others of the affected businesses have put their losses around the £10,000 mark.

Their prospects look bleak after Northern Bank spokesman, Eugene Keenan, pointed out on WEdnesday that customers taking a night safe had signed a mandate agreeing that lodged cash was not the bank’s responsibility until transferred to account. He said that in view of this the bank would not be making good losses suffered by customers.

His official announcement came after local branch manager Jim Gregg broke the bad news to a number of traders earlier in the day.

Over 20 local shops and businesses have been affected, including O’Brien’s off-licence, Syliva’s Fashion Boutique, the Royal Cinema, the Royal Hotel, Lenihan’s Put, the Shillelagh Pub, Jones Filling station, O’Brien’s butchers, Cyril Dunne Fashions, Lawlors Chemist, and the Gem newsagency.

Even without bearing the loss of their customers, the prospects for the Bray branch of the Northern Bank do not look good.

Withdrawal by all their main business customers in the wake of the row could leave the branch with little alternative but to close.

Meanwhile local gardai have reported no major developments into the robbery which was discovered on the Tuesday after Christmas last week. Supt Jim Harrihan described the break-in, in which thieves used an acetylene torch to cut the safe open, as a relatively simple operation which would not have required specialist skill.