One of the longest established retailers in Dublin city centre had a significant amount of stock stolen and the windows of its shop front smashed during a robbery on Sunday morning.
Monaghan’s Cashmere on South Anne Street in Dublin 2, which opened in 1960, was robbed at around 6.30am with the thief breaking a window and making off with a bundle of sweaters and shirts.
"It was horrendous," owner Suzanne Monaghan told The Irish Times. "When the alarm first went off I got a notification on my phone and checked the surveillance cameras but couldn't see anything out of order. It was only when staff got to work on Sunday that we saw the damage."
She said CCTV footage from neighbouring shops showed a single male smashing the windows and before making off with as much stock as he could carry.
He dropped some clothes on the street and these were subsequently returned to the store by refuse collectors doing their rounds in the city centre.
“At least nobody was hurt and we are all healthy here so it could have been worse,” Ms Monaghan said. “But the very fact that something like this could happen at a time like this concerns me,” she said.
She said other retailers in the city had shared with her stories of robberies taking place over the weekend and she expressed concern that empty streets and stretched Garda resources might see some people seek to exploit the coronavirus crises.
“When we looked at the CCTV footage in the area it looks like the same person targeted a shop nearby but I can’t be sure,” she said
She added that her neighbours from up and down the street had “been so supportive and have been bringing us coffee and things like that. Generally people are good and they are looking out for one and other.
She said the shop was still open although she added it was “not doing any business at the moment. I don’t think anyone is.”
