Isa Arthur shows the phonewires which the gang pulled from the wall. Picture copyright Donegal Daily.
EXCLUSIVE: This is one of the two sisters brutally attacked in her home in Raphoe by three cowardly raiders.
Isa Arthur, 91, fought back tears at her home in Feddyglass as she recounted her ordeal to Donegal Daily today.
Isa and her sister Suzy were set upon in broad daylight just after 5pm yesterday.
Suzy was thrown to the ground by the raiders who broke her hip.
She is recovering in hospital while Isa said she has not slept since the ordeal.
Isa revealed that the same men called to the home a couple of hours previously asking if they could paint their house and she kindly gave them a drink of water.
The sisters’ home at Feddyglass
However, the men returned and attacked the frail sisters demanding to know where they kept their cash and valuables.
Isa (Isabelle) revealed “I was out in the garden and when I came in they shoved me into the living room. I saw Suzy on the ground and she couldn’t get up.
“I tried to shout that I was getting the gun but they were too strong for me. I just wished I had more strength to fight back.
“They searched the house looking for stuff and they ransacked Suzy’s bedroom but we don’t have anything.”
Isa made her way down to the main Lifford to Raphoe road in her stocking feet and managed to flag down a passing car.
The people took Isa back up to her house and called an ambulance for Suzy (Susanna) who as rushed immediately to Letterkenny General Hospital 10 miles away.
She is still awaiting surgery after suffering a suspected broken hip in the raid.
Isa revealed she didn’t have time to press a panic alarm button as the raiders pulled the phoneline out of the wall in the sitting room.
Isa said she thought the men spoke with local accents and they did not wear masks but had stockings on their hands.
Fighting back tears, the partially deaf pensioner said “If only we had been able to tell someone then the guards might have caught them.”
Inspector Goretti Sheridan from Letterkenny Garda station appealed for information on the incident, saying a UK-registered Ford Focus was seen acting suspiciously in the area at the time.
She appealed for anyone with information to call detectives immediately on 074 91 67100.
“This was a particularly nasty aggravated burglary and we would ask anyone with information to come forward as soon as possible,” she said.
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