Timmy Dooley TD hailed as hero as he tackles handbag snatcher

If Clare TD Timmy Dooley turns up in the Dáil wearing a Superman outfit, don’t be surprised.

Sat, 07 Mar, 2015 - 00:00

Dan Buckley

There aren’t many politicians seen as superheroes these days, but the Clare deputy is the exception.

The 46-year-old TD went above and beyond the call of duty for a constituent in Ennis yesterday when he tackled a robber who stole a bag from an elderly woman.

Mr Dooley gave chase when the hooded man snatched the handbag while the woman was shopping.

He blocked the robber with his car and then chased him on foot. Mr Dooley managed to reunite the bag with its owner but the culprit escaped.

Mr Dooley said it was the first time he had witnessed such an incident and felt that he was doing the right thing.

“I was just on my way back to the office, coming down the Clare Rd,” he said.

“I noticed a young fella with a black jacket and a hood tightly wrapped around his head, a brown woman’s leather bag in his hand, and he seemed to be running, so I kind of assumed that it had been taken.

“So I managed to get ahead of him with the car, pulled in, and confronted him. He turned around and ran from me and I gave chase.

“He dropped the bag as I was about to catch him.”

The Fianna Fáil TD revealed on Twitter how he sprinted after the man during the incident, which occurred at midday on O’Connell St, Ennis.

Mr Dooley tweeted: “Just gave chase to a hooded man who robbed a lady’s handbag in Ennis — got the bag but he got away.”

Mr Dooley, who describes himself as a “humble servant to the people of Clare”, has been a TD since 2007 and was a member of the Seanad for five years before that.

Just gave chase to a hooded man who robbed a lady's handbag in Ennis - got the bag but he got away #partialresult
— Timmy Dooley (@timmydooley) March 6, 2015