NEIGHBOURS of the elderly woman raped in her home in Phibsboro say the attack has made them afraid for their safety.
As detectives began door to door inquiries yesterday, local residents, many of whom are elderly, said they were shocked by the attack on such a vulnerable and frail woman.
An elderly shopkeeper who lives alone in the area said: "I have a very good alarm system and a panic button beside my bed but it does leave you afraid." A woman standing at her front door said she kept a dog and took as many preventive measures as possible but she still felt anxious.
"We don't know the fiend who did this and I hope we don't ever know him," another woman said.
The rape victim, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, has two sons in their 40s and several grandchildren.
One son lives in Malahide, north Dublin, the other in Galway, according to neighbours. One resident who knew the woman well said her family members visited her daily but they did not stay with her overnight. One neighbour described the victim as a "nice old lady", saying: "She didn't go out an awful lot but her family are very good to her and she had a home help."
Shandon Park is an attractive and settled part of Phibsboro with a high concentration of elderly people. The raped woman lived in a corner house beside an alley in the two storey red brick terrace. The house backs on to a grassy bank which runs along the Royal Canal.
The victim's house has no burglar alarm, but several nearby houses do. The street is in a Garda Neighbourhood Watch area, and a front window of the woman's house had a blue sticker denoting her membership of the scheme.
Neighbours said the rape follows a series of recent house break ins, muggings and vandalism in the street. Several houses were burgled in the past two months and four cars were burned out on the street one night around Hallowe'en. The local postal delivery office was raided yesterday.
Residents say they believe youths who drink cider in Mount Bernard Park at the top of Shandon Park were responsible for many of the recent criminal incidents. Dublin Corporation has recently committed money to improve the park.