Man claimed to be from IRA during armed raid at Clonmany Post Office

A man who pointed a gun at a terrified postmistress in Clonmany and told her he was from the IRA has appeared in court.

Barry Reddan, 65, pleaded guilty at Letterkenny Circuit Court to one count of attempted robbery.

The charge relates to a terrifying incident on the afternoon of November 11, 2020 at Clonmany Post Office.

Details of the attempted robbery were outlined in court by Detective Garda Jason Conroy to state barrister Ms Fiona Crawford BL.

He told how post mistress Mary Brennan was tallying up her takings for the day at around 4.45pm when a man with a 'monkey hat' and surgical mask entered the premises.

She suddenly realised he was pointing a gun at her and told her: "Hand the money over, I'm from the IRA. Hand the money over."

Ms Brennan's witness statement told how the man had his finger on the trigger of the gun and it kept twitching as if he was going to shoot her.

The man pointed the gun at her again and repeated "Give me the money" but Ms Brennan replied: "You're getting no money."

Instead, she managed to press the panic alarm button located below her desk and backed into the kitchen area of the post office where she managed to lock the door behind her.

She tried to telephone for help but realised she had left her mobile phone out in the post office and waited for five minutes.

Still shaking and terrified, she then went back out, grabbed her phone and managed to call a man she knew in the nearby Centra shop.

Detective Garda Conroy told the court that an immediate investigation was launched and CCTV taken from a number of locations identified a white Ford Fiesta van which was later traced to Reddan.

An attempt had been made to obscure the licence plate of the van but ironically, the court was told that the van had been stopped earlier by Gardai after it had a broken brake light.

Reddan, a former car mechanic, was later interviewed by Gardai and he offered a guilty plea to the attempted robbery charge.

No money was taken during the robbery and the court was also told that Reddan, with an address at Whitehouse Park in Derry, did not have any previous convictions.

A victim impact statement on behalf of postmistress Ms Brennan told how she froze and all she could feel was fear during the incident.

"I felt trapped inside and I had no idea what he was going to do next. Every second felt like an eternity," she said.

She added that it felt like time had stopped during the robbery, that she felt terrified and alone and that her entire body was just shaking after it.

She said she played her ordeal over in her head for weeks and months after the attempted robbery and that she also lost her sense of safety in her workplace.

When she relives the ordeal, Ms Brennan said she finds it hard to put into words but genuinely thought there was a chance she could be shot.

The post mistress said she had worked for An Post for 40 years but never wanted to feel how she felt during the attempted robbery ever again.

Reddan, a father of four children and eight grandchildren, took to the witness stand but said he could not explain why he did what he did on the day.

"I don't know why I did it, I don't even have a speeding ticket," he said.

He added that he was "totally ashamed of what I did. I'm so sorry to that woman. I'm very sorry for any harm or offence I caused to that woman."

The man's barrister, Mr Colm Smyth, SC, instructed by Frank Dorrian of PA Dorrian and Company, said his client wanted to offer the woman €5,000 as a token of his remorse.

Mr Smith added that his client was not suffering from any mental or physical issues and that a probation report on the accused was quite positive.

He said his client had no previous convictions and the incident appeared to be completely out of character for him but that he had indicated he was feeling depressed at the time.

The probation report assessed Reddan of being of a low risk of reoffending again.

Judge John Aylmer asked if the money offered by Reddan was in court, he was told it was not but that Reddan's son could get it.

Judge Aylmer said it should be noted that it was up to the accused if he still wants to advance the money on the understanding that it will not keep him out of jail.

Mr Smyth replied that Reddan will have the money in court and that he wants to do it because he was genuinely remorseful for what he had done.

The accused man's barrister also reminded the court that his client has had a full working life, was a good family man and has no previous convictions.

He asked Judge Aylmer to deal with the charge as leniently as he could, saying prison will have a significant impact on the accused.

Judge Aylmer adjourned the case for final sentencing to November 11 when the question of a token of remorse to Ms Brennan can be made concrete.