The next-door neighbour of the 96 year old woman robbed and punched by thugs says he thought she was dying when he heard her screams of pain.
Robbie Callaghan, 52, rushed to the aid of frail Greta Lilly just seconds after she was attacked at her Buncrana home.
Robbie and wife Rosemary were entertaining friends at home when Greta’s alarm was activated on Saturday morning last.
Robbie, who is linked Ms Lilly by an Eircom alarm, rushed to the scene and found Greta terrified with fear.
He told Donegal Daily “The first thing I noticed was that the kitchen window was open and I knew that wasn’t right.
“All I heard then was this screaming and I called out her name and she recognised my voice.
“She then started screaming that she was robbed and attacked. When she opened the door she was holding her side and it looked like she had been hit on the face,” he revealed.
Robbie, who has lived next door to Greta for almost 20 years at Aghilly, Buncrana, said he has never heard such terror.
“I honestly thought she was dying. The screams were terrible.
“I have never seen anything like it. When she opened the door she was terrified.
“She could hardly breathe with the fear and I got a brown paper bag to help her breathe a little easier.
“What sort of person does something like this? It’s bad enough she was robbed but to hit a woman who is almost one hundred years old is just disgusting,” said Robbie.
Greta is still being treated at Letterkenny General Hospital but her injuries are not understood to be serious despite her ordeal.
She is expected to be released in the coming days.
The two men who carried out the gruesome attack wore dark clothing, balaclavas and spoke with local accents.
The men are understood to have escaped with a substantial amount of cash which Ms Lilly was saving for new windows at her home.
Her husband Ted died around ten years ago and Ms Lilly has lived alone since.
Meanwhile Gardai say they are making some progress in their investigation.
Inspector David Murphy of Buncrana Garda station said “We have made some progress but we have not made any arrests at this stage.
“We have received a lot of information which we are following up and acting upon as part of our overall enquiry,” he said.
One of those leads is a caller to Ms Lilly’s house last Friday who asked to buy an old car in the driveway.
It is understood the man insisted on buying the car for scrap and gained access to Ms Lilly’s house at one stage but then left.
Inspector Murphy said “That is one of the avenues we are exploring as part of the overall investigation.”
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