Children's rights activist Christina Noble says her home has been "desecrated" after she was held at knife point by a thief.
The founder of the Christina Noble Children's Foundation told Newstalk's Pat Kenny Show how a man broke into her house and repeatedly threatened to kill her.
Ms Noble had recently been in Vietnam, but she had returned home after she collapsed. Her doctor in Ireland told her she was exhausted and recommended rest.
After a second collapse in a supermarket, she was rushed to hospital.
“My blood pressure was very low and very dangerous, they thought I might have a stroke. I’m a tough bird, so I got through it all.”
On being released from hospital, she returned home - and began sleeping downstairs in order to let her cat in and out at night.
Earlier this week, she woke up to something touching her arm.
“I turned around, and he took the knife he had in his hand and he put it towards my throat. He held it over my throat viciously.”
The man yelled at her to give him money, and threatened that he was going to kill her.
“I had the alarm, but it only goes off inside the house - it doesn’t go off outside. It didn’t distract him at all. He stayed 12 minutes. He was constantly lunging at me with this knife.
“I went into a very calm state. I just sat there. I didn’t utter a word. I don’t know if it was shock or adrenaline.
“He desecrated my home”
Panic button
Eventually Ms Noble managed to hit her panic button when the thief briefly turned away. The ensuing loud noise prompted the thief to grab her phone and keys, and he left with her car.
She said gardaí arrived very quickly after the panic button was pressed and believed the burglar used screwdrivers to break into the house, which had been locked up at the time.
Ms Noble said she thought “long and hard” about going public with her experience.
“I’m just very angry that he desecrated my home. I just want people to know there’s some man going around doing this.
“I thought people should know what happened, make them more vigilant for themselves.”
She said she has considered selling her home after the incident, saying it feels “soiled,” but she has “beautiful neighbours” and the gardaí were “amazing”.