Elderly pair robbed in attack on home

An elderly brother and sister in Co Galway are still in shock after an attack on their home in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Gardai investigating the incident have said that two men of large build, and wearing balaclavas, forced their way into the home of Mr Michael Moran (78) and his invalid sister, Eileen (76) at their farm at Abbeylands, Eyrecourt, between 12.30 and 1 a.m. yesterday. An undisclosed amount of money was taken in the raid, including old denominations of bank-notes. Local businesses have been warned to be alert to any attempts to pass off the stolen money.

Mr Moran was injured after he tried to stop the intruders from entering the house, which is in a quiet country area. The men kicked in the outer door and used iron bars to force their way through an inner door which Mr Moran had braced himself against. The house was ransacked .

Supt Paul Mockler, who was leading the investigation yesterday, said that the attack was unprovoked and the couple were traumatised. He appealed to locals who may have noticed anything unusual in the area in the past six weeks, including people trying to sell goods or offer services, to contact the gardai. An incident room has been set up at Portumna Garda station, telephone (0509)41004.