The security industry has expressed surprise at the apparent absence of a 24-hour security presence for Russborough House and its valuable art collection, writes Joe Humphreys
Sources in the security industry have expressed surprise at the apparent absence of trained security personnel at Russborough House, Co Wicklow, who would be available to monitor its valuable collection of artwork on a 24-hour basis.
Neither gardaí nor Russborough management were willing yesterday to discuss in detail security arrangements at the house.
However, it is understood the premises is protected only by an alarm system and an elderly caretaker, neither of which deterred last Sunday's robbery, the fourth at the remote 18th-century mansion.
A spokesman for the Irish Security Industry Association said that while it was not familiar with the arrangements in place at the house, securing it would require "an integrated system which would include a physical presence, an alarm and monitoring, which could be provided by camera."
He said key to securing such a property was "early warning so that any activity in the area is picked up straight away".
While sources in the industry were unwilling to criticise arrangements at Russborough, they did express surprise at the apparent absence of a 24-hour manned security presence. Such a presence is in existence at the National Gallery along with more sophisticated technological prevention measures.
Industry sources recommended that apart from detection measures on the perimeter of its grounds, Russborough should have an alarm system to which each individual item of value was connected. Under such a system, the alarm would sound if any one picture was removed from a wall.
It was noted, however, that security personnel did not always deter raiders, as illustrated by recent art thefts in Europe.
In December 2000, three paintings by Rembrandt and Renoir were taken from Stockholm's National Museum by armed raiders who walked in towards closing time and made their getaway in a waiting motorboat.
Garda protection for Russborough has also come under scrutiny since Sunday's raid. The gang set off the alarm as they broke into the house just after 6 a.m. They had fled the scene within minutes before gardaí arrived from nearby Blessington station.
A Garda spokesman yesterday confirmed the station would not be open over 24 hours but that it was operational for that period and he said a squad car would have been on patrol in the area at the time. This car was said to have been at the scene within "a couple of minutes" but by that time the raiders had already abandoned the four-wheeled drive which they used in the raid and had fled in another vehicle.
Other gardaí from Baltinglass station, the district headquarters, subsequently arrived at the scene.
Meanwhile, Garda sources confirmed the chief suspect in the raid was a Dublin-based criminal who was involved in two previous robberies at the house. The man, an associate of Martin Cahill, the criminal known as the General, is believed to have been involved in the raids in May 1986 and June 2001.
On the latter occasion, a similar method of breaking into the house was used by an armed gang which struck on a mid-week afternoon.
Detectives are working on the theory that the latest raid may have been in retaliation for the seizure by gardaí last Thursday of the two paintings stolen in June 2001. A man was arrested in connection with the find and is facing charges. A number of files were also being prepared last week for forwarding to the Director of Public Prosecutions following the seizure.
Sunday's theft increases to seven the number of paintings now missing from the Beit collection. All the paintings stolen in April 1974 by an IRA gang and all but two of those taken by a gang headed by Cahill in 1986 were subsequently recovered.