ARMED robbers stole more than £8,000 from the Corby Irish Centre after holding up staff at gunpoint.
The masked men “barged” into the club armed with a gun, cs spray and an axe, according to staff and club members who were still at the venue when the robbers entered.
Last Monday Centre secretary Cyril Marsh and stewardess Janice Downs were closing up in the early hours after a busy weekend when the “frightening” ordeal occurred.
“Everyone is ok thankfully, but in the early hours these guys came barging into the club wearing balaclavas with a gun and CS gas,” Mr Marsh told The Irish Post.
“They threatened the few people still left in the bar, demanded the keys to the safe and unfortunately, after a very busy weekend, robbed us,” he added.
This week centre Chairman Frank Sheridan explained the impact the attack has had on members and the community at large.
“It has been a real shock for everyone, to have a guy in here with a gun and pepper spray and another one with an axe, it’s just terrifying,” he explained.
“We are all gutted and it’s particularly awful for our stewardess, who got the worst of it.
“One guy came straight to her with the gun and CS spray and demanded the keys to the safe. She ran to the cellar where our secretary was, who just said ‘give them the keys don’t worry about the money’.
He added: “There were also three members still at the bar; waiting to phone a taxi to go home, and the other guy was standing over them with an axe.
“He told them not to move and took their mobile phones off them. When the robbers left they threw them in the bushes, so we found the phones again but now the police have taken them as evidence.”
Mr Sheridan, an 81-year-old Belfast native, who was a founding member of the 40-year-old centre, claims they lost between £8,000 and £9,000 in the robbery.
“It’s difficult still, we are still very shocked and it’s very traumatic and frightening for everyone involved,” he said.
“We are gutted about losing the money too; of course, it was between £8,000 and £9,000, which was roughly the week’s takings.”
Last week a special committee meeting was called where members discussed the impact on the Patrick Road centre — which was founded in 1974 when the Corby area was full of Scottish and Irish workers employed at the local Stewarts & Lloyds steelworks.
“Everyone has been so supportive here and we are going to soldier on through this,” Mr Sheridan explained.
“But this is the only Irish centre within a 50-mile radius and our members are frustrated and gutted that this happened to their club and that these people could do this to us,” he added.
“But we’ll survive it, we have to.”
Appeal
Northamptonshire Police are appealing for anyone with information about this incident to contact them.
A spokesman confirmed: “We were called to the Corby Irish Centre in Patrick Road, Corby, at 1.40am on Monday, November 3, to reports that two masked men had entered the property and held up the occupants with a firearm.
“The men fled the scene in a dark-coloured car and we would appeal for anyone who was in the area at this time, or who has any information about this incident to get in contact with us.”
Witnesses or anyone with information about the incident can call Northamptonshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 55511.
See More: Corby Irish Centre, Robbery
