From stolen penguins to unsolved murders, let’s take a look at the top ten weirdest Irish crimes.
Ireland is a country recognised for its beautiful landscapes, rich history, the intrigue of folklore, and being one of the friendliest countries in the world.
However, like anywhere in the world, Ireland is no stranger to its fair share of weird crimes that put the nation, and sometimes the world, in complete shock and awe.
From the funny to the bizarre to the downright intriguing, below is a list of ten of the weirdest Irish crimes,
- From stolen penguins to unsolved murders, let’s take a look at the top ten weirdest Irish crimes.
- 10. The Dublin Zoo penguin – Kelli the penguin
- 9. The boring priest – the inspiration for Uncle Colm?
- 8. Shergar the horse – one of the most shocking Irish crimes
- 7. The hoax bomb scare – a ridiculous Irish crime
- 6. The stolen bell – truly random
- 5. The Peter Bergmann case – a real head-scratcher
- 4. The sumo wrestler/snickers debacle – a ridiculous headline
- 3. “Ye f**king gobsh*tes” – a funny one
- 2. The disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick – a real mystery
- 1. The robbery gone wrong – one of Ireland’s “stupidest” criminals
10. The Dublin Zoo penguin – Kelli the penguin
In one of the most bizarre crimes Ireland has seen, a female penguin called Kelli was stolen from Dublin Zoo by a gang of men at around 8 am on 8 July 2010.
Several hours later, the poor penguin was found a few miles away on a street in the north inner city and was returned to the zoo.
At the time, Dublin Zoo said the theft, which was believed to be a prank, was “not amusing”. Sadly, they never found the culprits. Read more infamous Dublin crime stories here.
9. The boring priest – the inspiration for Uncle Colm?
In 2014, Dublin priest, Father Arthur O’Neil, was the victim of an attempted burglary. However, at the time, he told police and journalists that he managed to bore the armed burglars out of his home.
In fact, when asked what the burglars managed to take, he said, “Not a whistle”, despite threats of violence. They even left his phone outside the house under a tile, sheltered from the rain.
8. Shergar the horse – one of the most shocking Irish crimes
The theft of Shergar the horse is one of the most infamous and certainly one of the weirdest Irish crimes of all time.
Shergar was an Irish thoroughbred racehorse who was stolen by armed men, alleged to be members of the IRA, back in 1983, although the IRA never admitted to any role in the crime.
A ransom of £2 million was demanded but never met. Shergar was never found, nor was his body recovered, and no arrests were made in his theft.
7. The hoax bomb scare – a ridiculous Irish crime
In 2016, former Intel employee Aaron O’Neill, who had been up all night partying, asked his friends to call his work from a payphone and tell them there were bombs in the building that would go off in 12 hours.
The hoax call caused motorway closures, air traffic control disruption, and prevented 4,000 Intel staff from going to work. When asked who was making the call, O’Neill’s friend replied, “Islamic State”.
As a result of the hoax, O’Neill had to carry out 200 hours of community service in lieu of a two-year prison sentence. Read one of the original news stories from the time here.
6. The stolen bell – truly random
One of the weirdest Irish crimes in recent years was when an irreplaceable bronze bell was stolen from a former church in County Kerry.
Weighing 28 stone (177 kg), the real mystery is how the bell was taken in the first place without anyone noticing. Stolen from the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre in Castleisland, County Kerry, it was one of only 16 of the same bell worldwide.
Gardaí say whoever it was that took the bell wasn’t the smartest criminal mastermind. This is because they left DNA behind after using the toilet in the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre.
5. The Peter Bergmann case – a real head-scratcher
The Peter Bergmann case is one that has had Irish people scratching their heads for years. On 12 June 2009, a man using the alias Peter Bergmann checked into the Sligo City Hotel.
His movements were captured on CCTV as he ventured on his holiday through Sligo. Four days later, on 16 June 2009, the body of this man was found at Rosses Point Beach.
No one knows what he was doing in Sligo, and no one knows how he died. It’s one of Ireland’s biggest mysteries to this day.
4. The sumo wrestler/snickers debacle – a ridiculous headline
In 2013, one headline truly baffled readers. The original headline read, “Woman in sumo wrestler suit assaulted her ex-girlfriend in gay pub after she waved at man dressed as a Snickers bar”.
If you had to read that several times before it made sense, you’re not alone. This bizarre assault ended up in court.
3. “Ye f**king gobsh*tes” – a funny one
One of the weirdest Irish crimes to date was back in 2009 when a man who told two female gardai to “f**k off, ye f**king gobsh*tes” was fined €280.
2. The disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick – a real mystery
Amy Fitzpatrick was a 15-year-old Irish girl who was living in Spain with her family. On New Year’s Day 2008, Amy went missing. She was leaving her friend’s house to go home after helping her babysit her younger brother. After this, she was never seen or heard from again.
This is one of the weirdest Irish crimes that, to this day, remains unsolved.
1. The robbery gone wrong – one of Ireland’s “stupidest” criminals
Described as one of the “stupidest criminals to come before the courts”, one Irish robber was jailed after a botched armed robbery job where the criminals ended up being rescued by the fire brigade.
In February 2012, Gary Byrne and two accomplices attempted to rob a gold storage business. When Byrne left the scene of the robbery, he left with the keys to the safe, locking the shutters behind him.
Incidentally, he also left his two accomplices locked inside with staff members who had been bound and gagged during the raid. So, ultimately, the pair were left to be rescued by the fire department.
