An elderly brother and sister's life savings were stolen today after a masked thug held them at knifepoint in a terrifying aggravated burglary.
Gardai have launched a probe after 79-year-old Gerry O'Halloran and his sister Mary, 83, were left "deeply traumatised" after the incident in Cork city after 7.30am this morning.
Gerry was confronted by a man, armed with a large blade, in the hallway at his home in sheltered accommodation in the Boyce’s Street area of Cork city.
He had been expecting a call from his sister Mary who visits him when not caring for another sibling.
But when Mary arrived, she was ordered inside by the burglar, who had spent nearly 30 minutes demanding cash from her brother, Cork Beo reports.
Eventually she was forced to hand over a significant sum of money she happened to be carrying in her handbag.
The Irish Mirror can reveal the man had ripped out a phone line in the house to stop them calling for help.
Mary sustained a minor cut to her hand as the intruder menaced her.
An hour after he had burst into the home, the hood made off with all the money Gerry and Mary had.
Neighbours raised the alarm as gardai and an ambulance crew arrived.
Traumatised victim Gerry will not return back to his home as he is too afraid.
National Ambulance Service paramedics Keith Harrington and his partner Sean Healy took the elderly pair, who were very badly shaken, to the Mercy Hospital in Cork.
They heard firsthand of their ordeal and decided to set up a GoFundMe page.
Keith told the Irish Mirror: "It's not something we would normally do, but we thought we had to do something for them as it was a lot of money for them and it was a shocking experience.
"We explained what a GoFundMe page was to them and asked if it was OK, we have to be very careful with the privacy of patients, but they understood what we wanted to do and they were happy for us to do it."
The pair had aimed to €2,000 for the couple, but had raised over €5,000 by this evening.
Keith added: "It's not something we often do, we see a lot in his job.
"But there was something about this that just got to us, and we wanted to help Gerry and Mary."
The GoFundMe page reads: "We are paramedics who are running this gofundme in an attempt to return some of Gerry and Mary's life savings which was stolen from them during a burglary in their home this morning in Cork.
"They are an elderly brother and sister and have been deeply traumatised by their experience.
"They were held at knifepoint in their home for over an hour. They are now being treated in the Mercy hospital. It would be great if we could alleviate their financial worries."
Gardai confirmed an investigation is underway as they appealed for witnesses.
A spokesman said: "Gardaí are appealing for information. They are keen to speak with anyone who was in the vicinity of Boyce’s Street or neighbouring streets between 6.30am and 9.00am who may have witnessed anything.
"They are also appealing to road users with video footage from the Gurranabraher area between those times, to make it available to them.
"Anyone with any information is asked to contact Gurranabraher Garda Station on 021 4946200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
"The investigation is ongoing."
