Man in custody following armed raid on Drogheda pub

A 21-year-old man remained in Garda custody tonight following a raid on a pub in Drogheda, Co Louth during which the publican and customers detained one of the alleged culprits.

Two men, one armed with a shotgun and the other with what publican Liam Hodson (51), described as a meat cleaver, entered the Marsh House pub at 8.15 on Saturday evening.

Mr Hodson today described how he believed he had recognised the gunman and for that reason had “called his bluff” by daring him to shoot him.

This was after the gunman had loaded a cartridge into the gun in front of him and customers.

Mr Hodson said he was serving behind the bar when two men came in and one went to one end of the small bar, the other to the other end and “they had me fairly well covered”.

The man with the cleaver grabbed him by the ear and threatened to kill him if he did not give him the takings from the till and the safe.

The raiders got what is believed to be a relatively small amount of cash, perhaps €200, from the till, but Liam said he told them “I did not have the keys to the safe.”

“The man with the cleaver had it on my ear and was trying to get the keys to the safe out of my pocket at the same time.”

Mr Hodson managed to shove the man with the knife away and, thinking he recognised the man with the gun, Liam said, “I walked in front of him and said ‘Shoot me’. I was calling his bluff as I said ‘Shoot me’.”

“I said to him I know you and you know me,” the publican, who has a teenage daughter, explained.

At that point he said one of his customers, a man, “helped me out by trying to grab the gun off yer man - and a scuffle broke out.”

In the altercation, other customers detained the man who had the meat cleaver.

Mr Hodson said: “I tried to grab the gun off yer man and he snapped it out me hand and ran out of the door. I locked the front door after he had gone out and then I ran and locked the back door so the other guy would not get out. I phoned the gardaí.”

Yesterday the publican had a bandage around a cut on his hand and sported cuts to the side of his face and throat.

"Amongst the small group of customers in the bar at the time was local man Chris Corboy who said, "I thought it was a prank, a joke. I am still shaking from it."

Meanwhile, a 21-year-old local man remained in Garda custody tonight. He is expected to be either charged or released from custody tomorrow.