Art thieves hit stately home

Russborough House is home to priceless artworks

Art thieves have hit a stately home in Ireland for a fourth time in 27 years, just days after two artworks were recovered from a previous theft at the property.

Gainsborough's Madame Baccelli was stolen and recovered

Five paintings were taken from Russborough House, County Wicklow, the stately home of the late South African diamond millionaire, Sir Alfred Beit.

Two of the paintings - Jacob Van Ruisdael's The Corn Field and Rubens' Portrait of Dominican Monk - were stolen previously in 1986 and returned seven years later.

Police said they suspect the raid was carried out by a former associate of the late Dublin gangster Martin Cahill, nicknamed the General, who is believed to have carried out the 1986 raid .

The other three paintings taken were Rubens' Venus Supplicating Jupiter, Wilem Van Dervelde's The Calm Sea and Adrien Van Ostade's The Adoration of the Shepherd.

Russborough thefts

1975 19 paintings taken

1986 18 works stolen

2001 Two paintings taken

2002 Six paintings taken

On Thursday last week police recovered Gainsborough's Madame Baccelli and Bernardo Bellotto's View of Florence, which were stolen last year.

The home was owned by the late South African diamond millionaire, Sir Alfred Beit, who donated the priceless collection to the nation.

Police were alerted at 0500 GMT on Sunday when an alarm was sounded from the house.

They found a window broken at the rear of the house. A jeep found abandoned a short distance away is being examined by technical experts.

After the recovery of two paintings last week, the curator of Ireland's National Gallery, Sergio Benedetti, said: "The two pictures are very important, important for the back collection and also very important for the national heritage."