Callous thieves rob pop-up charity shop in Longford town days before it was due to open
Irene Brady says thieves will not defeat her and she will open shop in a new premises on Friday and Saturday
The pop-up charity shop on Ballymahon St was the brainchild of Longford town woman Irene Brady and it was due to open on Friday and Saturday of this week, August 25 and 26. She wanted to open the shop to raise money for Cavan Oncology Unit where her sister Madeline Canning is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
However the shop was broken into earlier today and heartless thieves made off with a large quantity of goods that had been donated for the shop.
“We are in total shock,” Irene Brady told longfordleader.ie this evening. She described how they had set the shop up today to prepare for its opening on Friday. After leaving the premises for a few hours this afternoon, she returned to discover that the shop had been robbed.
“I thought the roof had fallen in,” she said, describing the mess that the thieves left behind.
However she quickly realised that a large quantity of the high end stock had been robbed. According to CCTV footage, the thieves entered around 3:10pm.
“After all the goodwill shown to us, they just came and cleaned us out,” Irene said. “We just cannot believe it.” She added that the stock donated was “all perfect” and would have raised a considerable amount of money for charity.
Although devastated by the theft, Irene says she will open her pop-up charity shop this week as planned.
“They are not defeating me,” a defiant Irene said, adding that she is determined to raise funds for the hospital.
The shop will open on Friday and Saturday, August 25 and 26, in a new location, an alarmed premises in Hibernian Court beside Courtyard Cafe.
Irene has issued a renewed appeal for donations to the shop ahead of its opening.
“We really need them. We are so sorry that this happened and we are very grateful to the people who did donate. We would really appreciate donations,” she said.
Anybody who wishes to donate items for sale in the shop can do so by contacting Irene on 086 363 4800.