A BROTHER of three elderly pensioners tied up and assaulted in their home in Co Limerick has described as “mayhem” the scene at the isolated farmhouse.
Willie Creed (74) and his elderly sisters, Nora (72) and Chrissie (66) Creed, were recovering in hospital last night after two men armed with knives and a makeshift sword entered their home at Ballyluddy, near the village of Pallasgreen, Co Limerick.
The incident took place at 10pm on Thursday.
The intruders, who were wearing ski masks, were armed with two knives and a home-made implement which gardaí believe was a sword.
They used cable ties to tie up Mr Creed and his sisters before ransacking the house.
The siblings remained tied up for more than 2½ hours before they managed to alert their brother Tommy, who came to their rescue at 12.30am.
The 69-year-old described the scene at the house as “mayhem”.
“When I went in I was absolutely shocked at what I saw, all blood and mayhem. It was a scary kind of a scene,” he said.
Mr Creed also said his older brother Willie was covered in blood and his sister Chrissie had a black eye.
“My brother was covered in blood. He had cuts to his head and his arm and my sister had a big bump on her forehead and a black eye. The second sister wasn’t too bad.”
Mr Creed believes his 74-year-old brother must have put up a fair fight given the injuries he suffered.
“He must have challenged them or have done something because he got a fair dusting,” Mr Creed added.
The victims were extremely traumatised by their ordeal, according to gardaí.
All three suffered cuts to their hands and heads and were brought to the Mid Western Regional Hospital where their condition was described as stable.
Det Insp Tom O’Connor said it was a violent assault on the elderly people and described the incident as a “heinous crime”.
“This was a particularly violent assault on three elderly people who were quiet-living and good country people. We are extremely anxious to speak to anybody who may be able to help us with our investigation,” Insp O’Connor said.
Gardaí are seeking to speak to anybody who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the Pallasgreen area between 6pm on Thursday and 2am yesterday.
Detectives only have a vague description of the intruders and gardaí are still trying to ascertain whether or not they used a getaway vehicle.
An incident room has been set up at Bruff Garda station and gardaí can be contacted on 061-382940.
The robbery at the Creed home comes less than two weeks after a large crowd attended a public meeting to voice their concerns over a recent spate of robberies in the east Limerick area.
Some 250 people packed Pallasgreen Community Centre on May 15th last for the “Stop Local Crime” meeting, called by Pallasgreen Irish Farmers’ Association in response to an aggravated burglary, robberies, numerous business and home break-ins and thefts from farms in east Limerick.