Brazen day time break in foiled by Offaly home owner and Gardai

When James Gorry junior saw something out of the corner of his eye as he was making his way towards his farm house in Offaly, he could never have imagined what was about to unfold.

James, who lives in Clonminch Wood in Tullamore inherited the house from his father James senior and he  farms there regularly.

However, a fall put him out of action for a while and disrupted his usual routine which involves travelling to the house daily.

On Wednesday, August 14, at around 3pm, James drove to the house from Tullamore.

''I normally drive my car into the front driveway. I thought I saw something out of the side of my eye. As I drove up to the door I could hear rattling and a strange sound. I thought it was outside, then it seemed to be inside the house. Years ago crows got down through the chimney and caused a bit of a racket and I thought that might be it. But this was like a herd of elephants. There was running, it was like the film Jumanj. I could hear numerous footsteps, running up the stairwell. I noticed they had the blinds pulled back as if they were watching out for me,'' said James.

''I went back to the car and I got out a slash hook. I had been cutting down briars.The old place is run down a bit and I had been doing clearance works, cutting down bushes out there every day.''

At this point James knew he was dealing with more than just one. He rang the Gardai.

He also noticed the top bathroom window was broken out. ''That's the way they got in. Normally I would be there. It was very brazen and cheeky. When I saw the window broken, I thought these boys mean business.''

James recalled that he had spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He went back up the road. ''I found a bunch of mountain bikes stashed in a gateway. A couple of seconds later a lad rode by me towards the house. It occurred to me that this lad must be keeping watch. This was about 100 yards up the road. Then a maroon coloured car passed by and did a U-turn in the gateway of the farmhouse when they saw me. It looked like a people carrier. Meanwhile the gardai arrived. They came within 10 minutes,'' James said.

''They (Gardai) grabbed the lad who had ridden past me on the road. There were three others. I heard a bang at the back of the house. They had gone into trees and woodland. But the gardai flushed them out.''

James had a previous break-in at his house and he thinks this might be related.

''It was great to catch them, but at the same time I was in shock. They pulled out all the drawers. I had some electrical equipment, they pulled that out of the box. They had taken keys and some loose coins. But they had to get out through a narrow window when they heard me in the front. They broke the whole frame and they left the coins and the keys on the roof when they were getting out.

It was in the middle of the day. It had to be someone tipping them off. Normally I would be airing the house out. ''

James believes they may have been there before to view the place. He thinks they were taking the keys as they intended to return.

He hasn't heard any more in relation to those arrested by the gardai and has been left in shock as a result of his ordeal.

James's house was originally owned by his grandfather Patrick J. Gorry who was a founding member of Fianna Fail. Mr Gorry served in the Seanad and the Dail. He left it to his son who in turn left it to James junior the current owner.