Man given 10-year sentence for role in Lusk post office raid
A man has been given 10-year sentence for his role in an attempted armed raid of a post office where two of his fellow gang members were shot dead by gardaí.
Gavin Farrelly (aged 35) Lower Sherriff Street Dublin 1 pleaded guilty to attempted robbery of Ms Linda Neary at the Village Stores, Post Office, Main Street, Lusk on May 26, 2005.
He also admitted to allowing himself to be carried in a stolen car, which was unregistered and bore false license plates, on the same day.
Colm Griffin (aged 33) from Cannon Lillis Avenue and Eric Hopkins (aged 24) from Lower Rutland Street, both in Dublin city centre, were shot dead when gardaí intercepted them during their crime.
Judge Joesph Matthews suspended the final two years of the sentence, taking mitigating factors which had been submitted on behalf of Farrelly into consideration.
Detective Sergeant George Kyne told Mr Brendan Grehan SC (with Mr Paul Anthony McDonagh BL), prosecuting, that gardaí had received confidential information that an armed robbery would be taking place and had taken up surveillance positions around the post office.
Det Sgt Kyne said the expectation had been that the raiders would come in through the front door and two this end two gardaí were disguised as builders labourers and had taken up positions inside the store, mingling with customers in order to intercept the robbers.
Gardaí noted a black Skoda car, which had been stolen earlier at Dublin Port, approaching the village but it unexpectedly turned left and pulled up to the rear entrance of the store.
Det Sgt Kyne said the store had earlier received a delivery of €48,500 which had been deposited in the safe area of the post office to the rear of the store which also contained a delicatessen and shop. He said there were about 17 people in the store at the time including staff and customers.
He said the intended target of the raid was the post mistress, Ms Neary, who was with two other persons carrying out a audit in the sorting office which was a secure area behind protective glass.
Det Sgt Kyne said Gda Kieran Coughlin heard in his earpiece that the car had gone to the rear of the store so he and another went to the rear of the store and placed their garda ID up against the glass of the secure area.
Ms Neary opened the door to them and they entered the secure area which had the blind pulled down.
Gda Coughlin heard "pounding" on the reinforced glass and saw the glass moving. The two gardaí shouted "armed gardaí" a number of times when glass began to come in on top of them.
Det Sgt Kyne Gda Coughlin began to fear for his safety and that of others and felt he was "justified in drawing his revolver" as they were vulnerable due to the breeching of the secure glass. Another garda opened the door to the secure area and shouted "armed gardaí".
Det Sgt Kyne said Gda Coughlin heard a number of shots over a period of about five seconds and the pounding on the window continued. He then left the secure area with another garda and saw a male on the ground.
Gda Coughlin saw Farrelly continuing to hammer on the protective glass with a sledge hammer and shouted at him to drop it. He ordered him to lay on the ground while they searched him for firearms and secured the area.
Det Sgt Kyne said Farrelly was brought outside and arrested while Griffin and Hopkins who had been shot received CPR and awaited an ambulance.
He said the entire incident from when the men entered the store lasted about 21 seconds.
