Familys ordeal at hands of gang
A local family were put through a harrowing ordeal at the hands of a knife-wielding gang last week.
Gardaí are investigating the circumstances surrounding a frightening aggravated burglary at the Larchfield estate in Dunboyne.
The incident occurred between 7pm and 7.30pm on Thursday 30th October when four armed men broke into the home of a businessman in the 89-house estate.
The businessman was confronted by four males holding implements, believed to be knives, when walking into his kitchen.
He was joined by his 27 year-old son in the hallway, who received a laceration to the side of his head and ear during the confrontation. He was later taken to Blanchardstown Hospital for treatment.
The intruders fled empty-handed via the rear door of the house before escaping over a side gate. It is believed that they also gained access to the house through the rear door.
The assailants, who are described as being Irish, were wearing dark clothing, gloves and had their faces covered for the duration of the incident.
A number of men were seen leaving the area at speed in a silver BMW 3 Series.
Gardaí in Ashbourne have provided descriptions of two of the suspects. One is described as being of a stocky build, 5'9' or 5'10' tall, and wearing tracksuit bottoms, a white jumper with a hood, and a dark jacket. The second male was described as slim, 5'10' to 5'11' tall, and wearing dark clothing with a hood.
No arrests have been made and gardaí are continuing their enquiries.
Cllr Maria Murphy has called for increased vigilance in local communities in light of the attack.
'I'm horrified that any family in our area has to go through an ordeal like that,' she said. 'When a group of people come prepared to invade a person's property, there's very little you can do to stop that but if people are aware within their community of any unusual activity around a neighbour's property or something out of the ordinary, they should notify the guards.'
The FG councillor and gardaí both referred to this type of aggravated burglary in the Dunboyne area as an 'isolated incident'.