Some things just can't be replaced, says burglary victim

By TOM GILMORE BURGLARS stole an iPod containing years of favourite songs collected by the late Susanna Silke, as well as money saved by her teenage son for a school trip to China, when they burgled the Silke family home in rural Woodquay village near Tuam in broad daylight. Father of three Michael (Mick) Silke is appealing to anyone who might have purchased, the iPod Classic, at a knock down price, to please give it back as it contains so many musical memories of happy times spent with his wife who lost her battle with cancer just over a year ago at the age of 50.[private] Michael is a popular street trader in Galway city where his Yummy Crepes stall has been a prominent feature at the weekend market for almost 20 years. He says that the iPod belonging to his late wife, one of several items stolen during the burglary of their home, contained music that she had stored for decades from 'Abba to (Frank) Zappa'. It was scratched from wear and tear and has a silver back and a black front. 'Perhaps the iPod may have been dumped in some ditch, hedge or drain and I am appealing to anyone who finds it to give it to their local Gardai as it is of such sentimental value that I would love to get it back,' says Mick. The iPod belonging to his dead wife was left beside Mick's bed where he would often play some of their favourite songs in the evenings. 'Susanna had the iPod for five or six years and she got somebody to download most of her CDs from the past 20 years on to the 80 Gb iPod which could store a huge amount of music,' says Mick. The burglars struck when Mick was taking his teenage daughter to school in Tuam on a morning when she missed the bus. 'It was probably the only morning that she missed the bus and after taking her to school I was away for some time for a dental appointment that morning when they took four laptops, two iPods and a sum of money. The cash was approximately €400 to €500 in coins and notes that our son Daithí had been saving for the school trip to China in April,' he added. Mick says that while the replacement value of everything taken would be in the region of €3,000, if it was sold at knockdown prices the burglars might only get €50 or €100 for the lot. 'My late wife loved to sing and she had a lot of old Traditional songs that would be hard to find on the iPod. I would often put it on in the evenings and it would bring back pleasant memories of our 30 years together and that's irreplaceable. Fortunately her wedding ring didn't go,' he added. Mick says the family now feel insecure in their home which was never the situation before this happened. 'The other night during the high winds my 14-year-old daughter awoke and as she heard windows rattling in the house she got up in the middle of the night and said she was frightened that somebody was in downstairs. That has never happened before. 'We have great neighbours here and we have always felt safe but unfortunately I probably felt too safe and I left the key in the back door that day. But I have spoken to many other people in rural areas who said they all have left doors unlocked on occasions and I am now appealing to everybody to lock up their homes at all times,' he added. Mick says these burglars are 'not wearing stripey shirts or carrying a bag with swag on the back' but they dress the same as everyone else and are 'opportunists' who are driving around rural roads looking for houses that are easy to rob. He says the Gardai have been very helpful but they said to him that in all likelihood they were driving out through the village and when they say him driving out his gateway with a girl in school uniform in the car they then decided to pounce on his home. 'They probably knew I would be out of the house for at least 20 minutes to half an hour and of course when they got to the back door and saw the key was in it they went in. While in hindsight it was a stupid thing to leave the key in the lock it is something that many people still do, but now I am warning everybody to think of security and always lock your doors,' he added. While the Gardai recovered three of the laptops in a stolen car near Loughrea one that still has not been found had important Leaving Certificate project work on it belonging to his daughter. There are three teenagers in the Silke family, daughters Méabh and Saidbh and son Daithí and it was only when they came home from school that evening and went to looks for their laptops when doing their homework that the theft was discovered. The thieves did not ransack the house, they just took the items and the money and fled the scene before Mick returned that morning. He is full of praise for the Gardai in the way they have recovered three of the laptops but the more modern one is still missing and the iPod with his late wife's music. He says people should never leave cash around the house and all valuables such as computers or cameras should be hidden away from view in case burglars come prowling. Yesterday he had a local locksmith calling to put in a new and more secure locks on the doors of his home. But he says that 'you can't turn your home into Fort Knox and even Fort Knox can be broken into'. 'Unfortunately I wasn't insured because we had so many other bills to pay for and after my wife died one of the things that I did not renew was our house insurance but I am renewing it this week. 'Think security and if you lock your back door and are leaving out a key for your children to use don't leave it under the mat as that is the first place that burglars will look,' says Mick. 'I suppose we are fortunate that we weren't beaten up and the place was not ransacked and it was eight or nine hours afterwards before we realised the house had been burgled'. Mick says that people are only stealing these items so they can sell them and if somebody offers you a nice laptop that's worth €500 for €50 you should be suspicious that it is stolen. 'Think of the anguish that its theft has caused somebody. If these guys can't move the stolen property on they might stop stealing things,' he concluded. Tuam Gardai say they are following a line of enquiry regarding the burglary but as yet no arrests have been made.[/private]