Two priests victims of ‘shocking attack’ by axe-wielding gang as ‘fear of God’ put in them during violent burglary
TWO priests were attacked and sprayed with bleach during a violent burglary at their home.
An undisclosed amount of money was stolen during the raid at Kilcurry parish house outside Dundalk, Co Louth.
It is understood that the two clergymen - Fr Vinod Kurian and Fr Oliver Stansfield - were badly roughed up and were deeply shocked after their ordeal last weekend.
A gang of four men armed with axes and a sledgehammer forced their way into the rear of the property.
They assaulted the two priests, aged in their forties and seventies respectively, and forced them into the parish office before stealing a sum of cash.
They sprayed bleach on the walls of the office and the two terrified men before fleeing the scene
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Gardai have appealed for any witnesses who may have seen any suspicious individuals or vehicles in the area between 8pm and 9.30pm last Saturday night to contact them as a matter of urgency.
They are particularly keen to get their hands on any dashcam footage passing motorists might have.
A Garda source said: “It was a full blown aggravated burglary and a shocking attack.
“They put the fear of God into these two priests and assaulted them badly.
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“We need to hunt this gang down and find them before they attack someone else.”
The parish priest Fr Kurian told how he and his colleague Fr Oliver came back to their house after saying mass when the four man gang burst in.
He recalled: “I was up in my room when one man came up armed with an axe, another confronted Fr Oliver with a hammer and the two others were trying to break into the safe with sledgehammers.
'Broke through the door'
“I struggled with one and prevented him getting into my room. I tried to call the Gardai but he broke through the door I had locked and took my phone off me.
“He demanded the keys of the safe which I handed over but the keys wouldn’t work they had done so much damage to the safe.
“They did get some cash before they sprayed the bleach all over us and the office.”