Staff shaken after armed raid on post office in Rathmolyon

A post office clerk and a customer were left shocked and shaken last Thursday after three masked men entered Rathmolyon Post Office, one carrying a shotgun and the other a hammer, and ordered that cash be handed over. The raiders struck it lucky by arriving in the post office shortly after the timelocked safe had opened and made off with a substantial sum of money, believed to be in the region of €20,000. The masked men entered the premises at about 11.45am, one of them smashed the glass partition at the teller's desk with a hammer, while another man threatened the staff member with a single-barrelled shotgun which had its butt sawn off. The third man, who was unarmed, jumped the counter and took cash from the safe. All three men were wearing homemade masks that appeared to be hession sacking or knitted, and they were all wearing hoodies. The post office staff member, who is in her early 20s, and another female customer on the premises at the time, were shocked and shaken by the terrifying ordeal but were uninjured. No shots were fired. The raiders made their getaway in a stolen black Toyota Landcruiser jeep (short wheelbase version) that was parked across the road from the post office and was driven by a fourth man. The vehicle headed down the main street of the village and turned right. It was found abandoned a short time later at Castletown, about a mile from the village. The scene was preserved and Gardai carried out a technical examination. Local publican John Byrne, who took over the Village Inn pub just 10 weeks ago, said a man he knew ran into the pub around 11.30am and said that the post office was after being robbed. He walked out with the man and looked towards the post office where Mr Byrne said he saw a black jeep taking off at speed and they then went in to make sure the post office clerk was OK. "Then I noticed a black golf bag and envelopes at the far side of the road that fell out of the jeep while it was taking off. Some people were saying to move it but I said to leave it there for forensics and I rang the Gardai in Trim who arrived very quickly," said Mr Byrne. He added: "This is a very small community. You would never expect this to hit a small community like this but everyone has rallied together." Coincidentally, the same day, Mrs Briget Lawless, who had been postmistress at Rathmolyon Post Office for more than 60 years, passed away in hospital after a short illness. She was 93 years of age. Her son, Pat Lawless, had just left the post office a few minutes before the raid occurred. He said: "The place was busy. They must have been watching it. There were two lads in before and once they left, they (the raiders) came in." Mr Lawless said it is the first time there has been a successful raid on the post office. He explained that a van was stolen outside on the street some years ago but they managed to save the money. Mr Lawless said his mother used to worry if there was money on the premises and would always say "a few extra prayers". The getaway jeep, a black Landcruiser with a 05 KE registration, was stolen in Mullingar two days earlier, on 4th August. The vehicle was taken as the owner was locking up his premises at the Lynn Industrial Estate at around 5.45pm and Gardai are appealing to anyone who noticed anything suspicious in the area to contact them. Gardai are also appealing to anyone who noticed anything in the Rathmolyon area on the day or in the past few weeks to contact them. Gardai do not believe the gang just decided to hit Rathmolyon that day and believe they would have been in the village at least once previously. The jeep was stolen just two days earlier and it is unlikely that this was the vehicle they would have been travelling in. Gardai are also examining CCTV footage as part of their investigation.