Takeaway staff tied up by masked raiders in Ratoath

Gardai are appealing for the public's help following two serious incidents of crime in Ratoath towards the end of last week - a robbery and an assault. In the early hours of last Friday morning, a robbery took place at Macari's Takeaway in the village when three masked men entered the premises and tied up staff, before departing with around €5,000 in cash. Shortly after 1am, three masked men broke in through a back door to the takeaway and assaulted two employees, a male and a female, in their 30s. There were no customers on the premises at the time, as the shop was preparing to close. The staff were bound with cable ties, but one managed to break free and raise the alarm. Both staff members were attended to by ambulance personnel and removed to hospital with minor injuries. Gardai in Ashbourne are asking that anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at the time contact them at (01) 835 1515. There was a further serious incident in Ratoath on Friday night/Saturday morning when a man was assaulted in the Corballis Demesne area of the village, close to the shops at the retail and residential development. The incident occurred at around 1.40am on Saturday morning and Gardai are seeking information on a late 1990s model, silver/grey Rover 400 car, seen in the area at the time. The man was taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown for treatment of serious injuries. Gardai at Blanchardstown, meanwhile, are appealing for witnesses following the attempted robbery of a bookmakers shop at Littlepace, Clonee, Dublin 15, on Friday last. A lone male entered a bookmakers shop and held up staff with a suspected firearm around 3.15pm. During the course of the raid, he was confronted and disarmed by an off-duty garda before escaping on foot empty-handed. The man is described as being aged between 18 and 26 years, approximately 5' 11" in height, of slim build with short light brown hair. He was wearing a grey-coloured chequered hooded top, navy blue tracksuit bottoms and white running shoes. Anyone with information is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station on (01) 666 7000, or the Garda Confidential line 1800 666 111.