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Robbers Make Off with
Treasures from Irish Library

A 273-year-old copy of Gulliver’s Travels with handwritten alterations by author Jonathan Swift is among an estimated $165,000 worth of treasures stolen December 14 from the public library in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The Associated Press reported that two masked and armed robbers burst into the library, held guns to a 20-year-old library assistant’s head, and tied her up. They then smashed glass cases and stole the 1726 book by Swift, which alone is valued at $49,500. Officials have speculated that the thieves knew exactly what they were looking for and have a buyer ready to receive the loot. Librarian Harry Carson said in the London Times December 15 that he suspected “a paramilitary connection,” suggesting IRA dissidents.

The library’s collection is considered among the finest for Irish artifacts. Also among the missing items is an ancient miniature version of the Koran and a 1611 Geneva Bible.

Posted December 20, 1999.

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