West Clare school sends students home after second burglary in a fortnight
A secondary school in West Clare has been forced to send students home for the day following a second burglary at the premises in just a fortnight,
Management at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Spanish Point had to turn pupils away this morning while Garda crime scene technicians carried out a forensic examination of the building.
It was the second time in less than two weeks that the school was targeted by thieves.
In the latest incident, considerable damage was caused to the doors of several offices and a store room and while management say it’s not immediately clear whether anything was stolen, they said "there was nothing for them to take".
School principal Mary Crawford said it appeared the same modus operandi was used in this incident and that despite the disruption for students, they had no choice but to close the school today so that Gardaí could carry out their work.
On May 13, burglars cut telephone cables to deactivate the security alarm before removing a window to gain entry to the school. On that occasion thieves got away with two locked safes containing a substantial amount of money including cash raised for a charity in Thailand.
Repair works are being carried out today and the school is expected to reopen tomorrow.
