Kilkenny man jailed for 18 months following farm burglary which led to Garda chopper hunt

A Kilkenny man has been handed an 18-month jail sentence for a farm robbery where the owner and his son took on five intruders which led to a manhunt involving the garda helicopter.

Edward Carthy (25), of 27 Rioch Street, Kilkenny was sentenced to three-years in prison with the final 18-months suspended for burglary and assault at Ossory Hill, Johnswell, Kilkenny on November 18, 2019.

Carthy, along with another four men, was spotted trying to steal from the county Kilkenny farm, when the father and son spotted them. The five men fled in a Volkswagon Passat, which they in turn crashed meters from the farmyard. The farmers took chase and managed to tackle Carthy, who then assaulted the younger farmer punching between five and ten times. The other four managed to escape.

They restrained Carthy long enough for the gardai to arrive and arrest him, while a massive search was then undertaken to find the other burglars, which included calling in the Garda helicopter from Dublin.

A second man, Jimmy Carthy who is facing trial in relation to the incident, was arrested hours after the burglary along with another, a third man. A file relating to the third man is with the Director of Public Prosecution, while a fourth man who was arrested in Thomastown on November 19 was released without charge after questioning and gardai are awaiting instruction.

Gardai are still looking for the fifth man involved in the burglary.