Spout robbed

The till float was taken during a break-in at The Spout pub in the pre-dawn of Monday morning.

In what was clearly a carefully-planned burglary, the thieves first took down the external alarm box at around 6am, just before first light. Then they broke through a side door with what are believed to be heavy hammers before accessing the kitchen and other areas in the popular pub.

The whole operation was carried out very quickly, as gardai were on the scene shortly after notification from the alarm company that something might be amiss.

"I was called by the alarm monitoring company, and when I rang the pub in case it was a staff member coming in early, a garda answered the phone," said Billy Dowling, who operates the business. "They were very quick off the mark."

No stock was taken in the raid. Gardai are continuing with their investigations. The alarm system has been reinstated.