Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following an incident where 18 cattle were stolen from a farm in Skibbereen, Co. Cork, overnight.

The gardai said a total of 12 Friesian heifers and six Friesian bulls, approximately one-year old, were reported as stolen from a farm yard in the Lakelands area, Skibbereen.

The incident is believed to have occurred at some point between last night (Sunday, November 23) and this morning (Monday, November 24).

Gardaí are appealing for anyone who may have information on the alleged theft to contact them.

Any persons, including road users who were travelling between the R637 road and the R593 road in the Lakelands, Skibbereen area overnight and who may have camera footage are asked to make this available to investigating gardaí, who can be contacted at Skibbereen Garda Station on 028 23088.

Crime trends

Seperately, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has reported that in the year to Q2 2025, there were 74,292 recorded crime incidents of theft and telated offences.

This was an increase of 30% or 17,278 incidents from the same period in 2022.

In the intervening period, the number of recorded crime incidents increased to 71,104 in the year to Q2 2023 but has been relatively stable after that, with the 75,980 incidents in the year to Q2 2024 being slightly more than for the same period in 2025.

The number of recorded crime incidents fell in 10 of the 14 offence groups in the year to Q2 2025.

The largest percentage decreases were for homicide and related offences (-42%), kidnapping and related offences (-16%), and robbery, extortion and hijacking offences (-14%). 

Other notable decreases were for crime incidents of burglary and related offences (-7%); fraud, deception and related offences (-6%); and offences against government, justice procedures and organisation of Crime (-6%).

Crime incidents of fraud, deception and related offences are in respect of those reported directly to An Garda Síochána by members of the public, and does not include those reported by financial institutions as required under Section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2011.