An attempted burglary on an agricultural business in the west of the country was foiled by authorities earlier this week.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night (July 6) into Wednesday morning, on the premises of McHale Agri, Forest and Garden, based in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.
Taking to social media on Wednesday, the business said: “So we had a break in last night.
“Our Echo stand containing a substantial range of chainsaws, hedge trimmers, strimmers and leaf blowers etc. were taken.
“However due to outstanding service provided by Kieran Lavelle of Right Price Alarms and a rapid response by the Gardaí at Castlebar Station, the attempted burglary was foiled.
“Massive thanks to Kieran and the Gardaí at the scene last night,” the firm‘s post added.
A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed the incident, stating:
“Gardaí are investigating a burglary that occurred on [Wednesday] July 7, 2021 at retail premises in Castlebar, Co. Mayo at 2:30a.m.
“A number of items were taken from the premises and were later recovered.
“No arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing,” the Garda representative concluded.
Interestingly, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Covid-19 lockdown measures contributed to “sharp falls in recorded crime levels” across Ireland in 2020 – rural crime included.
For example, ‘theft and related offences’ were down by 16,684 or 24.5% when compared with 2019, according to CSO statistics.
However, as Covid-19 restrictions ease and the country starts to open up again, so too do the opportunities for criminality. Check out the best property-protection tips for rural-dwellers here.