Camera equipment worth €4k stolen at Reen Pier

A WEST Cork charter boat operator has spoken of his devastation after over €4,000 worth of his camera equipment was stolen at Reen Pier, near Union Hall last Sunday afternoon.

Rory Jackson, who operates West Cork Ocean Tours with his vessel the MV Kerry Head told The Southern Star that it all happened within a few minutes.

‘I was doing my usual trips on Sunday out of Reen Pier and I had let the passengers off at around 5pm. I left two of my bags temporarily on the pier near lobster pots while I was mooring my boat and I was only gone about 15 minutes,’ said Rory.

‘When I got back to the pier I found that one bag was gone, and my other bag which contained my wallet and phone was still there.’

Rory, who is a Green Party representative for the Skibbereen area, said the pier was relatively quiet at that time when the theft occurred and he spoke to a few people but no one saw anything.

‘I reported the matter to the gardaí in Skibbereen and we are also looking at CCTV. It’s disgusting and it’s like someone cutting off your arm. It’s not just about the equipment either, I have lots of stuff on the memory cards which are now gone  and the likelihood of getting them back are slim.’

Rory’s equipment, which was in a grey/green rucksack, included a Canon 80D camera with three lenses, GoPro Hero 12 black in a bright orange floaty, a Zoom H4NPRO hydrophone underwater microphone, Sennheisser headphones and accessories.

‘It’s about seven years of building camera gear and now I’m just looking at empty boxes. I’m very appreciative of the support I have received from people and it does restore your faith in humanity,’ he said.

He is appealing to anyone who comes across his camera equipment to contact him or gardaí in Skibbereen. He has also contacted the companies about the theft in case someone tries to sell them online.

A garda spokesperson said they are investigating the theft of the camera equipment from Reen Pier on September 8th last and investigation are ongoing. Anyone with any information is being asked to contact Skibbereen Gardaí on 028-23088.