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A spate of robberies has seen three quads stolen from neighbouring farms in Co Kildare in recent weeks. The quads are estimated to be worth almost €20,000 collectively.
The latest theft took place on Wednesday night, 27 January. Ballitore suckler and tillage farmer Carmel Lawlor bought her Honda quad two years ago for €12,000 with a tracker installed.
“We decided to get a tracker on the new quad, with a steady stream of thefts taking place in the area. Our farm is not by the roadside though, so this was a carefully planned operation,” Lawlor told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“We now know the thieves had been in a couple of nights before to check the place out because we’d noticed gates had been left open.”
Bad timing
The tracker on the quad was not successful. Lawlor hopes that an Eircode marking on the quad will lead to its recovery.
“If the quad shows up as far away as Wexford or Donegal, then people will be able to see it has a Kildare Eircode and has been taken a long way from home,” she said. “If there wasn’t a market for stolen machinery, then we wouldn’t be in this position. People need to take a strong look at who is selling and ask themselves is there any possibility that this is stolen property.”
On Friday, 22 January, Castledermot suckler and sheep farmer Nigel Higginson reported his quad and trailer stolen to gardaí.
“I parked the quad and trailer in the shed and pulled the roller door across at around 6pm. I went into the house to relax and came back out at 10pm and no sign of the quad or trailer,” Higginson said.
“I found tracks the next morning where they drove straight out of the shed and across the field. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time, coming into lambing.”
Higginson estimates that the 500cc Honda quad and Ifor Williams sheep trailer are worth over €4,300.
Brazen theft
Ballyroe dairy, beef and tillage farmer Jim Mahon reported his Yamaha Kodiak 450cc stolen on 16 December 2020.
“I was sitting eating the dinner in the house when I heard the noise of the quad racing out the lane. The fella brazenly came up into the street and stole the quad from under my nose,” Mahon told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“We recently spent €800 fixing it up and it will cost at least €3,500 to replace.”
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