An Aran Islands pub was flooded with beer after a burglar left 16 of its taps running in the early hours of St Patrick’s Day.

According to the Connacht Tribune, a raider stole about €500 in cash and cigarettes from Joe Watty’s pub on Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands, off the coast of Co Galway.

But the culprit also caused an estimated €5,000 worth of damage to the Kilronan establishment’s flooring by turning all the beer taps on an leaving them running.

Connemara councillor Joe Folan condemned what he described to the Tribune as a nasty and spiteful robbery.

“Breaking into a pub is bad enough, but to leave the beer taps running is both spiteful and nasty. Whoever is responsible for this incident should be ashamed of themselves”, he said. “This is totally out of character for the island and has to be condemned.”