The Travails of Travel

The Clanard Court Hotel in Athy, Co. Kildare is a charming little boutique accommodation, family owned and operated.

What could be more of a bride's dream than a wedding in Ireland, with a festive reception in such lovely surroundings? Looking for a hotel that's off the beaten path of Dublin? Look no further than the Clanard Court Hotel, where guests can find in-house entertainment and more things to do than days to do them in. Tour Whites Castle, the Athy Heritage Centre Museum, the Waterford Crystal factory....the list goes on and on.

Don't forget your Uzi.

The hotel was raided last night by four men in balaclavas, armed with shotguns and one sledgehammer. The latter was used to bash in the front door, which the night porter had locked against the criminal gang.

Local gardai were called and arrived promptly. Within minutes, the armed robbers had their guns trained on the unarmed law officers and had stolen their Garda van. Makes for a much better getaway, one must suppose, than any other stolen vehicle. Not to blame the gardai, of course, because if anyone were to point a gun at a man's head and demand the keys to the van, you'd expect him to hand over the keys without complaint.

The crooks made away with about 150 euros of petty cash, a truly pathetic haul for a job that required so much work to pull off. Add in the cost of increased jail time for robbing a garda and thirty-seven euros fifty is hardly worth the effort to lift.

As the hardened criminal has taken to carrying weapons, and the members of An Garda Siochana do not, the savvy traveler should consider protection of their own when wandering the boreens of Ireland. Enjoy your trip!