Podcast: "I calved a cow until 2am and in the morning my jeep had been stolen"

Co Meath farmer Michael Garrigan only went to bed for a couple of hours last Friday night, but that was enough for thieves to break into his house and steal his car keys.

Thomas Hubert

17 February 2016

Farmer Michael Garrigan at the door of his house damaged by the burglars who stole his jeep in Oldcastle, Co Meath.

Farmer Michael Garrigan stands where his jeep was parked until it was stolen in Oldcastle, Co Meath.

Michael Garrigan, a dairy, beef and sheep farmer in Oldcastle, Co Meath, calved a cow until 2am last Friday night. “I locked the jeep in the yard at 2.10am,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal. The next morning, he woke up to find the lock torn out of his home’s back door. His Toyota Land Cruiser had disappeared from the yard outside.Neighbours told him they heard two vehicles on the move at 4.30pm, while Michael and his wife were asleep. “They did not come in any further than the hall. The keys were just inside the back.”

Neighbours told him they heard two vehicles on the move at 4.30pm, while Michael and his wife were asleep. “They did not come in any further than the hall. The keys were just inside the back.”

That jeep was my life, I had everything in it

“That jeep was my life, I had everything in it,” Michael said, listing cattle cards, sheep tags, a de-horner and four bags of meal as well as his phone and glasses. “There was even a dead lamb I had put in a bag to bring to the knackery,” he added. He must now pay for transport for feed and animals until his insurance clears the purchase of a new jeep.

The gardaí have confirmed they were investigating the unauthorised taking of the blue 10LH-registered Land Cruiser and that no other property was taken. They added two other jeeps were taken from a house in Oldcastle last Wednesday during a similar burglary and called on anyone with information to contact Kells Garda station on 046 9280 820.

No garda presence at night

“I reported it to the guards and they said it is widespread now in Meath, Cavan, Louth and Monaghan. They seem to be targeting Toyota Land Cruisers and Hi-Lux,” Michael said. Garda headquarters declined to comment on such a pattern of crime in the region.

Michael said he was happy to see gardaí arrive from Kells half an hour after he reported the theft, but said there should be a stronger presence at the local Oldcastle Garda station, especially at night. “There is no point in having a guard during office hours and nothing after that,” Michael said. He added that he would mention this and options to make a garda helicopter available to track suspicious vehicle movements at night when election candidates canvass on his doorstep.

Listen to an interview with Michael Garrigan in our podcast below: