Bank of Ireland robbery

2009 Bank of Ireland robbery

The Bank of Ireland building on College Green
Date	27 February 2009
Venue	College Green cash centre of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Location	Largest bank robbery in the Republic of Ireland's history
Arrest(s)	7 people in total were arrested who are believed to be part of the Dublin Gang
Suspect(s)	In 2010, Shane Travers, the man who claimed he was held hostage, was also arrested

The 2009 Bank of Ireland robbery was a large robbery of cash from the College Green cash centre of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 27 February 2009. It was the largest bank robbery in the Republic of Ireland's history. Criminals engaged in the tiger kidnapping of a junior bank employee, 24-year-old Shane Travers, and forced him to remove €7.6 million (US$9 million) in cash from the bank as his girlfriend and two others were held hostage.

Ireland's Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, criticised the bank for its failure to follow what he termed "established protocols" during the robbery, as the Irish police force, the Garda Síochána, was not informed of the incident until the money had been removed from the bank. A manhunt is under way for the perpetrators, with seven people being arrested and €1.8 million of the stolen cash located, scattered across Dublin, on 28 February.

Late on the night of 26 February, Travers, whose father is a member of the Garda Síochána based at Clontarf, Dublin, was alone watching television at the home of his girlfriend near Kilteel, County Kildare. The woman and her mother were out shopping together. When they arrived home with the five-year-old nephew of Travers, six heavily built masked men, dressed in black and carrying handguns, jumped from the bushes.

The family was held overnight by the armed gang, during which time their mobile phones were confiscated and Travers' girlfriend was hit across the back of her head with a vase by one of the men. As dawn was arriving, the gang ordered all but Travers to enter their dark Volkswagen Golf family car. They were then bound together and driven to Ashbourne, County Meath.

The bank employee was given a mobile phone, ordered to collect €20, €50, €100 and €200 bank notes from his workplace, and supplied with a photograph of the rest of the family at gunpoint to convince his colleagues that their lives were under threat. Travers drove to Dublin in his red Toyota Celica car, acquired the cash through the assistance of colleagues who viewed the photo, and carried the money out of the building in four laundry bags. He took it to Clontarf Road railway station, whereupon he surrendered the cash and his sports car to a waiting gang member.