THE man who was shot in the face during an attack on the home of an elderly bachelor near Galway may have suffered permanent damage to his eyesight, gardai believe.
The man underwent eye surgery yesterday at University College Hospital, Galway, where his condition was later described as "stable".
Mr Patrick Duggan (76), from Kiltrogue, Claregalway, was asleep in his bed when three men kicked down his front door at about 4.30 a.m. yesterday. The attackers, who were in their early 20s and spoke with Galway accents, ransacked the house and demanded money.
Mr Duggan discharged one shot from a legally held shotgun, injuring one of the attackers in the face. The other two brought their injured companion to the casualty department of University College Hospital before fleeing by car.
The search for the other two members of the gang continued last night. Garda Supt Tony Finnerty at Mill Street Garda station said good progress was being made in the investigation.
"We are confident we will catch the people responsible for this very serious crime," he said.
Supt Finnerty said gardai in the last fortnight fitted a heavy lock and chain to Mr Duggan's front door and gave him advice on crime prevention.
"Extreme force had to be used in order to break the lock and the culprits also broke a strong chain," he said.
The car used by the attackers was found burnt out in Mervue, in the eastern suburbs of the city.
The incident has led to fears of renewed attacks on elderly people in isolated rural areas. Last winter, a spate of such attacks led to the largest ever Garda operation west of the Shannon, involving mobile checkpoints and helicopters.
Operation Shannon was followed by a scaled down surveillance operation, called Operation Retrieval. In recent days gardai have again increased the number of mobile patrols and checkpoints in the east Galway/Roscommon area. An Air Corps helicopter based in Athlone will also be used in the pre Christmas security operation.