Brave Co. Tipperary man scared away burglars trying to break into his house 

A quick thinking Hollyford man frightened away burglars trying to break into his home on Wednesday night by shouting at them that he had a shotgun. 

Postman Declan Ryan, who lives half a mile from Hollyford village, bravely stood his ground as two men tried to get into his home and shouted: "I have a shotgun here and I am not afraid to use it. You better get out of here." 

The incident happened around 7.30pm. Declan said he had woken up in his bedroom after a nap and heard loud knocking on his front door. The house was in darkness and he didn't bother to answer the door. A few minutes later he heard two men walking down the side of the house and saw two flash lights. 

Declan immediately rang the gardai. Then the men shone the flashlights in through his bedroom window and attempted to get in the window using a crowbar or other tool to force it open. He knew he had to do something quickly.  

"I roared at them at the top of my voice and luckily enough it frightened them off and they ran away." 

Declan said he found the experience very frightening and thanks his lucky stars the criminals ran away and didn’t challenge him. He believes they had their getaway car parked further up the road. 

Declan said he couldn't praise the gardai enough for their response to his emergency call. A garda from Cappawhite Garda Station, the nearest garda station to Hollyford, arrived on the scene within 10-minutes. 

Gardai in Tipperary Town are investigating the attempted break-in and have appealed to anyone who saw suspicious activity in the Hollyford area last Wednesday evening to contact Tipperary Garda Station at (062) 51212.