Kean’s fiancee tied up in €100k jewel heist

GARDAÍ are following up reports that two vans were seen around the home of celebrity lawyer Gerald Kean and his fiancee Lisa Murphy in the days before a burglary at the property.

Mr Kean revealed that two engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and brooches worth “well over” €100,000 were stolen in the incident on Thursday evening during which Ms Murphy was roughed up, bound and left alone for two hours before he found her.

He also revealed that the valuables were not insured because building work under way at the house meant that not all security measures were in place at the time. Security cameras were not connected for the same reason.

However, Mr Kean said he believed the house, at Three Mile Water in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, was reasonably well secured as it had security gates and was bounded by a river. He said the couple never expected anything like this to happen, particularly as it was bright outside.

He said Ms Murphy, who was previously engaged to Lord of the Dance star Michael Flatley, arrived home just after 8pm and noticed nothing unusual as she drove through the security gates and entered the house through the back door which she left open while she turned off the alarm.

She turned around to see the shadow of one of four men, but they rushed her and threw her to the ground and she was tied to a chair, threatened at knife-point and hit across the head when she tried to look up at her attackers.

The nature of the burglary makes it likely the gang were watching the property and its occupants for some time and chose carefully when to make their move. The building work was due to finish within the next fortnight and CCTV cameras would have been back in action then. They also made sure the builders had left for the day and Ms Murphy had arrived home alone and was not expecting company.

Ms Murphy was able to provide only brief details about her attackers who wore balaclavas, describing them as in their late 20s or early 30s with “country” accents that she could only rule out as not being from Dublin or Cork.

The man she got the best look at had sallow skin and his eyes were close together, while another wore a grey tracksuit. They did not bring a vehicle into the grounds of the house, but are presumed to have had one parked nearby, and gardaí are asking anyone who was in the area between 7pm and 9pm on the evening, or saw anything suspicious in the days previous, to contact them.

The area, a few miles south of Wicklow town, is rural and coastal with many luxury detached homes among older, more modest bungalows.

Mr Kean said that while Ms Murphy was not badly hurt, she was hysterical when he found her and remained deeply upset.

Gerald Kean built his reputation with a small but highly lucrative law firm that counts among its clients musicians, other entertainers and Premier League footballers. Ms Murphy now has her own beauty salon in Dublin called New Lisa Life.