Kildare village is stunned by abduction

The people of Allenwood, Co Kildare, were yesterday trying to understand how one of its residents was snatched from their midst two nights ago with nobody noticing anything.

The abduction of Ms Helen Judge (41) from her home was on everyone's lips in the small Kildare village.

Allenwood, between Edenderry and Rathangan, has a population of about 7,000 and has had its share of trauma in recent months.

In mid-August a murder investigation was opened after Ms Carmel Coyne's body was found in a mobile home not far from Ms Judge's house.

A man has been charged, and that case is before the courts.

Yesterday the blinds were drawn at Ms Judge's neat bungalow on the Prosperous road. Cars came and went from the house, with some passengers covering their faces when they saw the media presence outside.

Ms Judge has three sons, Alan, Jason and Shane, aged in their late teens and early 20s, and a granddaughter, according to neighbours.

Two of her sons still live with her, and her elderly mother has her own living quarters behind the Judge home.

Ms Judge, née Hogan, is from the area, as is her husband, Liam, whose family runs a substantial haulage business. He no longer lives permanently at the home and is thought to have a house in Spain.

Gardaí would not comment on reports linking him to Ms Tracy Gilligan, the daughter of the convicted drug-dealer, John Gilligan. "We are not going down that road," a Garda source said. Neighbours described Ms Judge as "a lovely woman who kept to herself".

She was extremely generous, according to Ms Joan Moore, who works at the Crossroads takeaway close to the Judge home.

"I do the Lotto for the daycare and she would buy a whole book every week," she recalled yesterday. "She won the jackpot a while ago. I'll never forget that. She never misses a week. She is a fierce nice woman."

Ms Moore was working on the night Ms Judge disappeared and left the takeaway at about 1 a.m. "It's really shocking when you think about what happened right here in the village. It's terrifying really," she said.

Ms Moore's colleague, Annie, agreed with her sentiments. "She is a very quiet type of a woman but very nice, very genuine."

Up the street in the Unity hair salon, Ms Ann Magee's thoughts were with the family.

"It hits you every now and then, and you remember what happened. But if it's like that for us, how must the family be feeling?" she said.

Gardaí are hoping that somebody saw something when Ms Judge was abducted some time between late Sunday night and early Monday morning.

Insp Ray McHugh said she was wearing a lemon-coloured night-dress and dressing-gown when she was taken from the house. She also appears to have been barefoot at the time.

Gardaí have made "an urgent appeal" for help from the residents of Allenwood as well as the public. "You could cross the country in about three hours in the middle of the night, so maybe someone saw something," Insp McHugh said.

Ms Judge is 5 feet 4 inches and weighs about 11½ stone. She has straight blonde hair and a small birthmark on her left cheek. Anyone with information should contact the incident room at Kildare Garda station, on 045-522553, or any Garda station.