Mart manager Gerry Finnerty told the Irish Farmers Journal that records show the phone line was cut on Sunday at 6:19pm, in an apparent attack on Gort Mart's security systems.

“They were probably after cash, but we use cheques and credit cards for our transactions,” he said.

In their search for valuables, the burglars “ransacked the place”, Finnerty said, causing damage estimated to cost thousands of euro.

They also stole the hard drives used to store CCTV footage, leaving no images of their presence at the site.

The mart’s management alerted the gardaí and “a special crime scene unit has been here to take DNA and fingerprints”, Finnerty said.

“We are working round the clock at restoring our phone line, CCTV and computer systems,” he added. “We believe we will be able to conduct our next sheep sale on Wednesday.”

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