Burglaries and suspicious activities on Bank Holiday Monday night

Several Athlone burglaries and reports of suspicious activity late Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday (May 3) are possibly linked, according to Gardai.

And they are looking for the public’s assistance in relation to the latest incidents, the first of which happened at 12.30am on Tuesday morning at Busy Kids Creche, Cloghanboy.

A window of an office was smashed to gain entry to the building activating an alarm on-site. It’s unclear what, if anything, was taken from the building.

Then around 1am, the front door of the Athlone Regional Sports Centre was smashed in and a vending machine damaged. Nothing else is believed to have been taken.

Gardai were on the scene within minutes of the alarm activation at the sports facility, however, the culprit or culprits had already fled the scene.

A Garda spokesperson said there were a number of reports of possible suspicious activity earlier the same night involving cars close to Cornamaddy NS and a supermarket on the Ballymahon Road, and they are working on the possibility that they may be linked to the burglaries. No crimes were committed at either location.

CCTV footage from the area is also being examined in a bid to catch those responsible, the spokesperson added, appealing to the public for help in relation to both break-ins.

Anyone who noticed anything out of the ordinary, either people acting suspiciously or strange cars along the Ballymahon road between 11pm Bank Holiday Monday night and 1am Tuesday morning, is asked to call Athlone Garda Station in full confidence 09064 98550.