Students from a Kerry school staged an ‘armed robbery’ so convincing, armed Gardaí showed up

Drama in Kerry of a Wednesday night.

Gardaí in Kerry attended the scene of a supposed armed robbery in Kerry on Wednesday night, only to discover secondary school students shooting scenes for a movie when they showed up. According to Radio Kerry, at least 10 Gardaí, including two armed units, turned up at a shop in the village of Causeway in north Kerry on Wednesday night after responding to a report from a concerned member of public who believed she had witnessed an armed robbery taking place inside. What greeted Gardaí when they arrived, however, was a group of Transition Year students who were filming a movie inside the shop at night-time in order to cause as little incovenience as possible. While permission had been sought from the shop owner and from the parents of the students involved, the Gardaí hadn’t been notified, which led to the rather drastic misunderstanding. Speaking to Radio Kerry, Inspector Liam Wallace of Listowel Garda Station said: “All the particular circumstances were such that, having seen what they saw, one would expect it to be a robbery or some sort of criminal event taking place. “But, in any event, all’s well that ends well, just a simple phone call to us in advance could potentially save a lot of trouble and a lot of difficulty. Our concern is that while we have resources attending that particular incident, they could have been required elsewhere.” Vice-principal of Causeway Comprehensive, Anne Marie Hassett, called the incident an unfortunate oversight and said that most people were aware that the filming of the movie was taking place. The upside, Hassett added, was that it showed that there is vigilance within the community. Not your average Wednesday night in a small village in Kerry, that’s for sure.