Search

06 Sept 2025

'It's our livelihood that's been taken' - victims of Leitrim robbery issue appeal

Tens of thousands of euro worth of vehicles and machinery stolen from Ballinamore family

"It's our livelihood that's been taken. That equipment and the work that we do was our pride and joy."

The public are being urged to look out for a Yamaha r6, among a number of other vehicles and machinery that were stolen from a yard in Ballinamore

Reporter:

Claire Corrigan

17 Jul 2025 1:44 PM

A local company was badly hit this week when tens of thousands worth of equipment were stolen in the early hours of Tuesday, July 15 between the hours of 12 and 6am.
Dara Reynolds of Leitrim Steel and Shuttering's yard, is appealing to the public for any information about the stolen items in order to track them down. 
The family are now offering a "significant reward" to anyone who can offer information on the robbery in attempt to track the thieves down. 
Speaking to the Leitrim Observer, Dara said that the equipment is his and his father's livelihood and it has been a devastating blow to the family. 
The location, between Fenagh and Ballinamore, is just 100 yards from the house which has added to the distress caused by the incident.
Dara asked the public, "to be more than vigilant and keep the eyes peeled."

A Renault Master, licence plate 161 D 1594 along with a quad trailer, Yamaha r6 motorbike, ride-on power float and bowser power washer were among the items stolen. A number of concrete finishing tools were also taken.
 
Dara stressed that the van and machinery are very distinctive. "They are items that wouldn't be seen around every man's yard. Especially the van; maybe a white van might not be noticed but this van has a lot of big red and white reflectors all down the sides and back of it. The trailer and power float are fully galvanised and are spotless."
He said: "To anyone might think they know something or even if they saw something they thought wasn't significant, I'd ask them to contact the Gardai. If they saw a car or someone acting suspicious or anyone hanging around. It might be something very small that catches them; something very small; that's all it takes."
READ MORE: Rural road repairs in Leitrim could take over 20 years without increased funding
Dara said that robberies such as this are happening frequently. "Another shed, only over the road in Aughnasheelin was robbed the night before with generators and a trailer and gates stolen and Dowra Mart was broken into yesterday. It's happening everywhere. The puzzling thing for me and I'm sure for an Garda Síochána is this normally happens at the backend of the year with the shorter evenings. These boys are working in a lot of daylight at the moment. Surely, someone has to have seen something."
He said the robbery on the yard was reasonably well planned out and said he didn't believe it was a "spur of the moment" thing. We are farming there and keeping a lot of cows who are calving all year around and it wouldn't be uncommon that my jeep or my father's van would be down there for the night; you would be asleep in the van checking on a cow calving during the night."
Dara continued that he believed it was possible someone was watching the shed that night as he left the yard at 12.45am and returned by 6am. "As soon as I pulled in, I knew straight away."
Dara added: "It's our livelihood that's been taken. That equipment and the work that we do was our pride and joy."

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2025 Iconic Media