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Sam Boal via RollingNews.ie

Varadkar among candidates caught up in armed robbery while canvassing

Two canvassers gave chase when the robbers fled the shop in Carpenterstown just before 7pm.

Updated 17 February 

A NUMBER OF election candidates got caught up in an armed robbery while out canvassing in Carpenterstown this evening.

Green Party candidate Roderic O’Gorman told TheJournal.ie that the group he was with were gathering together when they noticed a woman in her car who was shouting something he couldn’t hear:

There was a lady beeping and shouting and pointing at the shop and when I looked over I saw two men bursting out.

“I went straight to my phone and dialed 999. The gardaí came after 7 or 8 minutes and we gave whatever details we could.

One of my canvassers and a Fianna Fail canvasser gave chase to the robbers.

The two men, armed with a gun and a machete, ran around to the edge of the car park and slipped through a gap in the fence into an estate.

The robbers threatened staff before making off with a sum of cash but it’s understood that nobody was injured in the incident.

Some Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael groups were also gathered around to canvass at the time of the robbery.

A spokesperson for the Health Minister said Leo Varadkar was walking into the shop when the robbers were fleeing.

O’Gorman added:

One member of our campaign team spotted the two men getting on the 37 bus into town and we called the gardaí again and they subsequently stopped the bus but the men had gotten off.

Later in the evening the group he was with also found a wallet in one of the neighbouring roads, which they have since handed over to the gardaí.

Anyone who may have witnessed the robbery is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station on 666 7000.

Read: FactCheck: The truth and the lies from TV3′s Deputy Leaders’ Debate>

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109 Comments
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    Mute Conor Farrell
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:29 PM

    You’ll be missed, Iain. :(

    159
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    Mute Steve Hardy
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:29 PM

    Thanks for the stories, you’ll be missed

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    Mute Aoife O'Riordan
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:29 PM

    RIP, Iain. You were bloody fantastic.

    114
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    Mute Heather Sinnott
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:35 PM

    Started to re-read his books again since the news of illness. Sad to hear he died. Enjoying Whit all over again.

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    Mute Rian Lynch
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:32 PM

    RIP

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    Mute Stephen Fitzpatrick
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:33 PM

    RIP

    The Algebraist is one of my favourite sci-fi novels of all time.

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    Mute Mr Jingles
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:33 PM

    I hope they make a culture movie!

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    Mute Gareth Staunton
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    Jun 9th 2013, 7:01 PM

    Me two. Consider phleabus please.

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    Mute big shmoke
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:46 PM

    RIP, thanks for the books. You will be remembered.

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    Mute Dessie Edmunds
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:35 PM

    A brave, talented writer

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    Mute Daisy Chainsaw
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:50 PM

    RIP to a gifted writer.

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    Mute Derek Hynes
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    Jun 9th 2013, 4:55 PM

    Fantastic writer. I still have The Crow Road to read. So many great books by him.
    RIP

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    Mute Feargal Garvin
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    Jun 9th 2013, 7:40 PM

    Crow Road is a gem. I wish I could read it for the first time again.

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:39 PM

    Never read his books as not a si if fan, but as a fellow cancer sufferer, may he rest in peace.

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    Mute Patrick Cockfarmer
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:48 PM

    Joan – “Viva forever / I’ll be waiting / Everlasting / Like the sun”

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    Mute Rónán O'Suilleabháin
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    Jun 9th 2013, 6:35 PM

    Joan he has as extensive a fiction catalog as he does science fiction. Well worth a read.

    I’m finishing his most recent sci-fi right now, having just finished his most recent fiction.

    My christmas books will meet be the same

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Jun 9th 2013, 7:06 PM

    Ronan obviously I’ve missed something, need to investigate, I’m an avid reader!

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    Mute Dave O'Shea
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    Jun 9th 2013, 8:55 PM

    Joan.. He went under the name Iain M Banks when writing his sci fi novels… That should help.. Make sure to read the wasp factory and crow road… Bloody sublime.

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Jun 10th 2013, 5:41 AM

    Thanks Dave!

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    Mute Patrick Cockfarmer
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:00 PM

    RIP – a great author. I love The Crow Road.

    Why does God give people cancer?

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    Mute Joseph Siddall
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:09 PM

    Patrick, why indeed. 59 is no age but he achieved more than most and will be sadly missed.

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    Mute Patrick Cockfarmer
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:32 PM

    Ah – I see a couple of right-wing religious nuts are out in force. They have no answers of course.

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    Mute Martin St John
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:21 PM

    How sad … Read the wasp factory meny moons ago and it was a masterpiece … My English teacher borrowed it and said it was the best fiction he ever read . I think that says it all .. Great writer !

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    Mute Jennifer Hislop
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:37 PM

    Tom sharpe and Iain banks in one week. Too sad. Dead air is my favourite banks book.

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    Mute Robin Hilliard
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    Jun 9th 2013, 6:22 PM

    ‘The Bridge’, ‘The Player of Games’ and ‘Use of Weapons’.

    What a brilliant talent.

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    Mute John Magennis
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    Jun 9th 2013, 6:28 PM

    So sad, I loved the Wasp Factory. RIP

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    Mute Colin B
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    Jun 9th 2013, 5:50 PM

    Never read any of his sci-fi but my personal favourite Complicity was a great and underrated book of his. A very talented storyteller. He leaves a valuable legacy to future generations who appreciate good writing.

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    Mute Damian Long
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    Jun 10th 2013, 12:16 AM

    Very sorry to hear this,huge fan, rest in peace Iain……

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    Mute William Grogan
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    Jun 9th 2013, 10:33 PM

    It’s a toss up who was the greatest SF writer, Banks or Philip K Dick. All very sudden. Apparently he didn’t suffer towards the end. 59 is very young nowadays. I’m reading The Hydrogen Sonata. Maybe I’ll read it slowly.

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