Stand-off ends in Kilkenny

A stand-off between gardaí and a man armed with a shotgun in Graiguenamanagh, Co Kilkenny, ended safely last night shortly after 10pm.

The stand-off developed at the Woodlands Estate on the outskirts of the village shortly before 7pm, after gardaí tracked the man to the house during a major police operation following a jewellery robbery in Kilkenny city earlier in the day.

The village, on the River Barrow, is on the Kilkenny/Carlow border about 20 miles southeast of Kilkenny city. The house was under siege for three hours as the man refused to give up the weapon. It is believed the man is 20 years old and lives at the house with his parents and a brother. Neighbours and other residents in the Woodlands estate had to be evacuated.

Local Cllr Ann Phelan who lives close by said the area was cordoned off from about 8.30pm. Specialist negotiators had been summoned to the scene to persuade the man to give himself up after he locked himself in his room. Local sources said that a doctor in the village wearing a bullet-proof vest assisted gardaí with their efforts to communicate with the man.

Shortly after 10pm he voluntarily left the house and three firearms and a quantity of jewellery was recovered. A Garda spokesman said the man then received medical care.

Yesterday at around 9.45am, a lone armed raider fired a shot during a robbery at Murphy Jewellers on High Street in Kilkenny city. No one was injured.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times