AN ARMED gang that held the family of bank official and former Kilkenny hurler Adrian Ronan at gunpoint was trying to extort €3 million from the Bank of Ireland.
Mr Ronan’s three children, all of whom are below the age of 10, were unaware a robbery was taking place and that a shot was fired by a man holding their mother, Mary, hostage during an eight-hour ordeal.
The gang became angry when Mr Ronan said he could only get €200,000 from the bank where he worked. They then panicked and abandoned the heist.
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said the Ronan family had been through a very traumatic ordeal and he wished them a speedy recovery. He welcomed the fact nobody was injured and that no money was stolen.
“Banks, their management and staff can best secure this outcome by following agreed protocols,” he said.
Mr Ahern and Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy are to meet the chief executives of the main banks tomorrow. The talks, which were planned before yesterday’s events, are aimed at stressing to the banks the importance of alerting gardaí when tiger raids are under way rather than paying ransoms to gangs first.
The Ronan family’s ordeal began at their home at Michael’s Church, Ballycallan, Co Kilkenny, at 6.15am yesterday. Three masked men, at least one of whom was armed with a handgun, broke in to the house.
Ms Ronan was taken away at gunpoint. Mr Ronan was left with instructions to go to work as normal at 9am to the Parliament Street branch of the Bank of Ireland in Kilkenny city.
He was told his wife would only be released unharmed if he took €3 million from the branch. The gang gave him a phone saying they would ring him later in the morning and direct him where to drop the money off for collection.
The three Ronan children were asleep when the raiders broke into their house. Mr Ronan took them in to work with him.
When the gang members rang Mr Ronan just before noon, he told them he was only able to get €200,000 because of the time-lock systems on the safe. They demanded he get more money.
Just after 1pm the gang rang him back and told him to put whatever money he had in a bag and to go to his car parked close by and await further instruction via the mobile phone. However, he never heard from the gang again.
The Bank of Ireland had told gardaí what was happening and a major Garda operation was put in place. Gardaí believe the gang may have become nervous over the course of the protracted robbery attempt and simply decided to abandon the heist.
Ms Ronan was being held at an unattended weather station on the Granges Road, close to St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny city. The man holding her discharged one shot during her ordeal, although not at her. He left her there in the early afternoon and she managed to make her way outside. She was spotted by gardaí just after 2pm and reunited with her husband and children a short time later.
Gardaí have asked for anybody with information to contact them at Kilkenny Garda station on (056) 777 5070.
