Irish business owner foiled robbery with umbrella

Pat Keller, who owns an off licence in Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland, was forced to defend his business after finding a thief trying to steal beer kegs from him. Pat took a call saying there was banging in the yard of his Carry Out off licence at around 10.20am on Sunday morning and rushed over to confront the robber. Pat's weapon of choice was rather unusual however, as the only item he could find to defend himself was an umbrella. The hammer-wielding thief quickly ran away in fear of Pat and his umbrella, making his getaway over a wall.



Pat, who is also a local funeral director, said his reaction was in the heat of the moment. "One of the tenants in the building above my Carry Out rang me to say there was someone trying to break into the cage (where the kegs are kept)." "I was on my way to a funeral and had to fly over there in the hearse. When I got there, the only thing I could find to defend myself was a Keller's Funeral Directors umbrella in the back of the hearse." Pat said the thief had been banging on the lock with a hammer for a good 10 minutes when he arrived.

"I went up to him and asked him 'Hi, what's your story' and thankfully he put away his hammer. He then mumbled something at me and as he tried to get away I gave him a crack of the umbrella," he said. "He managed to get over the wall, but took a right good fall over it as he tried to get away." After telling his friend James Williams about the incident, Pat and James decided to add the video to Facebook, YouTube and the website James runs thefinest.ie. Pat says the video paid dividends almost immediately.


YouTube link.

"You know what, I'm blown away by the power of social media," exclaimed Pat. "Within a half an hour of putting the video up on Facebook I had the nickname of the lad that tried to rob me and an hour or so later I had his name, which I passed onto the guards. I have to say the gardaí were very good and were on the scene about two or three minutes after they were called." Pat closed by saying he believes the robber had an accomplice waiting in a car for him and that the gardaí now have a definite line of inquiry to follow.