Gardaí are hoping that forensic tests will help them track down two raiders who broke into a priest's house and attacked him with a hammer before making off with a quantity of cash and a number of personal items.
Detectives carried out a detailed technical examination at the home of Father Jerry Cremin at Arderrin Way, the Glen, in Cork city, after he was assaulted and robbed by two men in the early hours of Friday, December 31st.
Father Cremin - a native of Ballingeary in west Cork - was asleep in bed when the two raiders broke into the house sometime before 4 a.m. and beat him around the head with a hammer as they demanded money and other valuables.
Father Cremin, who is a curate in Blackpool parish and attached to St Brendan's Church in the Glen, was tied up by the two raiders who made off with seven bags of coins, some €300 in notes, a mobile phone and a laptop computer.
The priest managed to free himself and contact gardaí and he was later taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment to a number of wounds to his face and head, including bruising and lacerations.
Supt Martin Shanahan of Mayfield Garda station said that it was "a particularly savage" attack and he appealed to anyone who may have noticed any suspicious activity in the Arderrin Way area of the Glen last Friday night to contact gardaí on 021-4558510.
Gardaí have issued a description of the attackers, saying one man was around 6ft tall, of average built and in his mid 20s while the second man was around 5ft 8in tall and had a distinctive moustache. Both wore tops with hoods and spoke with local accents.
It is the second such attack and robbery on a priest living in the house over recent years.
Three men were convicted and jailed following a similar crime against the then curate at the house, Father David Murphy, in 1996.
According to a Diocese of Cork and Ross spokesman, Father Tom Hayes, the attack on Father Cremin was particularly vicious.
However, he said that Father Cremin had been discharged from hospital on New Year's Eve and was recovering reasonably well.