Don’t mess with the Irish! 85-year-old great-grandfather foils armed robbery

While an armed robbery would be frightening for all involved, an 85-year-old Irish man has become an unlikely hero after fighting off three burglars at his beloved betting office in Ireland.

Security footage has captured the moment great-grandfather Dennis O’Connor took on three robbers who stormed a bookmakers in County Cork, Ireland, over the weekend. According to RTE news in Ireland, the men were armed with hammers and a shotgun, but were no match for Dennis.

In shocking footage that has since gone viral online, the three robbers could be seen bursting through the betting store’s door, much to the shock of others enjoying their quiet night out. Two of the robbers could be seen jumping over the counter and threatening office manager Tim Murphy with a hammer. While one robber could be seen terrorising other patrons with the shotgun, footage captured the moment Dennis could slowly made his way behind the counter to confront two robbers who had Tim cornered.

85-year-old great grandfather foils attempted robbery at Cork bookmaker | https://t.co/gWJrcLQyw4 pic.twitter.com/XHEkD13dgJ

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 17, 2018

In dramatic scenes, Dennis could be seen walking up to one of the men and wrestling with him. His bravery seemed to work, with the robber quickly fleeing. At one point during the dramatic heist, Dennis could be seen getting ready to throw a stool at the robber.

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When he made his way towards the counter to help Tim fight off the last remaining intruder, he ended up kicking the criminal in the shins, causing him to fall over before fleeing.

The whole incident unfolded in just over 30 seconds, and although he’s winning praise the world over, hero of the day Dennis has declined to give interviews about his role in stopping the robbery.

While the outcome was good in this scenario, authorities have warned patrons not to intervene in the case of a robbery. Still, Dennis’ newfound fans have flocked to Twitter to praise the great-grandfather for his efforts.

One person wrote: “Now this is the fighting Irish. Well done sir.”

Another comment read: “Fair play to him, so glad he didn’t get hurt.”

A third added: “We’ve found the next James Bond.”

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Since being uploaded overnight, the clip has been viewed more than half a million times on Twitter. It has also been shared more than 5,000 times and liked 16,000 times. Dennis reportedly returned to the venue on Monday, just two days after his ordeal. He wasn’t injured during the incident.

Have you ever stopped a robber before? What would you have done in this situation?