Appeal after tens of thousands of equipment stolen
Incident occurred at approximately 4:30am Tuesday morning, March 17
A early-morning St Patrick's Day theft has left a local contractor reeling after high-value machinery worth tens of thousands of euros was stolen from a site near Ballyhaise.
The incident occurred at approximately 4:30am Tuesday morning, March 17, at an outer farmyard attached to Ballyhaise Agricultural College.
Among the items stolen were a Scorpion grab, an MDE Kola 400 shears, and a McCullagh 140 yellow mulcher, with the total value estimated in the region of up to €40,000–€50,000.
The thieves gained access to the site via an entrance near to One Tree Cross, by wrenching a locked gate open using heavy duty chains.
Machinery owner Oliver O’Reilly described how the thieves carried out the operation with precision.
“The gate had been forced- like it had been pulled open with a chain,” he said.
The equipment meanwhile had been stored in a secluded area, not visible from the road.
“There’s no reason for anyone to be back there,” explained Oliver, who has since shared images of the stolen items on social media, hoping that they might become “too hot” for the brazen thieves to handle or move on.
His post has since been shared widely, especially by those within the farming community across the region.
Tyre tracks left behind indicate the suspects used a twin-wheeled, 7.5-tonne-type vehicle, before fleeing the scene.
“You could see the tracks on the road- they went down towards Redhills,” Oliver added.
From there, the raiders may have headed across the border into Fermanagh and taken a right turn towards Monaghan.
The local contractor, who carries out regular work in the area, says the loss is significant.
“We use that for contracting work for the college and locally,” he said.
An appeal is now being made to the public, particularly businesses and residents in the wider Ballyhaise and Redhills areas, to review any CCTV footage from the early hours of St Patrick’s Day.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Cavan Gardaí on 049 4368800 or Oliver directly on 087 2625540.