There is shock and horror in Cortoon, Tuam, and surrounding areas after it emerged yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) that two elderly brothers were assaulted in their home near Brockagh in the village in the early hours of Monday morning.
Gardaí were alerted to the incident at the home of of the two men at approximately 12.40 yesterday and the brothers informed them that three intruders entered their house while they were in bed asleep at approximately 1am on Monday.
The brothers, named locally as Kevin and Joe Gannon, were pulled from their beds and assaulted and the intruders demanded money. They searched the house and waited for approximately an hour.
While Tuam Garda have not yet established what exactly was taken, it is thought that the raiders left with very little.
The Gardaí said that both men appeared to have injuries. They called for medical assistance at the scene and the brothers have been removed by ambulance to University Hospital, Galway. They are understood to have been traumatised and confused following the assault but it has not yet been established how extensive their injuries are.
One neighbour remarked that the whole community is in shock. He said the brothers were quiet inoffensive people who were no harm to anybody. He added that they went about their daily lives “without being any bother to anyone”.
This is the second time that the home of the brothers has been broken into. It is an isolated area where other houses were also broken into in the past year.
The scene of the crime has been preserved by Tuam Gardaí and detectives from the Gardaí scenes of crimes department are carrying out a forensic examination.
Tuam Gardaí are appealing to any neighbours or to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity of the house on Sunday night or in the early hours of Monday morning, or who may have noticed any strange vehicles in the area, to contact them at 093 70840 or 70841.
