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A MEETING OF a rural landowners’ group last night attracted as many as 3,000 attendees as the issue of gangland crime in rural areas begins to take centre stage.
The group Save Our Local Community, organised by local Two-Mile Borris farmer John Tully, met at the Anner Hotel in Thurles, Co Tipperary in the hope of drawing national attention to the lack of Garda resources in rural areas.
In attendance were a number of local TDs and senior gardaí, including Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly, although they were urged to keep their counsel for the duration of the meeting.
Speaking on Today with Seán O’Rourke on RTE radio this morning Tully said that the way to deal with urban gangs exploiting barely-policed rural areas is an increase in resources.
The issue of rural policing has come to the fore lately with the conviction of seven Dublin-based men for attacking and robbing the Corcoran family in Co Tipperary, who were subjected to a harrowing ordeal.
“There’s some who’ll be sleeping with shotguns and the like, but that’s not the way to deal with it,” said Tully.
The way to deal with it is to change the law, and let the gardaí deal with it; we don’t shoot people or deal with crime.
With Tully on the programme were two local dairy farmers, Barry O’Gorman and Conor Molony, whose farms have been burgled five times between them over the last five years.
Molony spoke of not previously being able to identify with the victims of crime until it happened to him personally.
“There’s a sense of paranoia and fear that comes with it. You’re walking into your dairy and you’re wondering ‘who will I meet?’,” he said.
O’Gorman said that the “government has the power” to fix the problem, and that something has to be done with the punishments handed down to repeat criminals.
They get a €100 fine and they don’t pay it, so I say put tags on them, and cut their social welfare.
We need more gardaí on the beat, more cars, more presence on rural roads.
Tully said he’s delighted that people from so many other counties, not just Tipperary locals, attended last night’s meeting.
“I never envisaged a crowd like we had last night, they say 1,500 were in attendance but I think it could have been twice that,” he said.
We had people from Mayo, from Meath, from Louth, from Kerry, and we’re going to try and spread this initiative now.
Asked whether the issue of rural crime is a political one, Tully replied “I wouldn’t tolerate what’s going on in politics”.
This has been an issue for four years, well now we’re not going to take it any more.
We want an increase in Garda resources, not people jumping on the bandwagon because there’s an election.
“People are no longer going to sit back and accept this, they’ve taken on the wrong group,” Tully added.
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Here’s the irony of the whole situation, you can’t comment and say that it’s two certain ethnic groups that are mainly responsible for this. Who? Irish Traveller’s and Romany Gypsies, that’s who, and court records in these cases prove it. Yet they can rob, invade, hurt and destroy people livelihoods and lives with impunity. Not only with impunity, but with very little chance of getting caught, and even if they are caught, light and nonsensical sentences. The world has gone so PC crazy, it’s ridiculous, being a good law abiding citizen is no longer the way to go it seems.
Oohh ye can’t be sayin that now Stephen.
The proceeds of these robberies fund pilgimages to Germany etc….
My comment was removed? Hmmmmmm. Ok, well as I said the first time, just shoot them on sight, keep doing it and I bet you it will stop. All they are, are cowards. What jury would even consider a guilty verdict against a man/woman defending their property from these vermin? Enough is enough is enough, it’s time people fought back by whatever means possible, and if you’re lucky enough to own a gun, let them have it, with both barrels.
The castle law means you can legally use force, dunno if I could have it on my conscience though when it came to it, but that’s just me, I’d fully respect if someone could
Argi-CULTURAL theft, if you will.
Put in a claim with their insurance cartel and they will be robbed all over again.
im curious, the article didn’t mention they had insurance, making out that it was a total loss- but insurance would cover this i would imagine? (unless there is some peculiar quirk of farms i am blissfully unaware of)
Read again Gunarsahn.
Gunnarsahn, have you ever made an insurance claim? If you did, you’d know that next time your premium is due it’ll be a lot dearer on you and eventually it will all come out of your own pocket, one way or the other!
Wow is this a journal article we can actually comment on?
Stealing a mans livelihood should have a special sentence of a mandatory 10 years regardless if it’s a hammer or tractor. It should also be on the word of a Superintendent to put so called career criminals out of circulation !
We need liberalization of gun laws in this country. Screw what the leftards think
Judges are not sorting it out by giving robbers with multiple convictions suspended sentences and bail against Garda advice so they can go out and commit more crimes.
People in rural areas are fearful of these Traveller gangs who seem to roam the country impunity.
Its time to give out severe sentences, at least they cant steal in prison.
The people who purchase these goods off the “white van man” are every bit as responsible for these thefts as the thieves themselves! And indeed, how often have they themselves become victims in the aftermath of such purchases.
The irony of the Done Deal advert in the back ground.
i can’t see DoneDeal doing much more than making the right noises
Vast majority of stolen stuff is sold back to the farming community. About time that the IFA expelled farmers guilty of such purchases. The guilty farmer then should be issed with a receiving stolen goods ticklet from the Garda and as a result farm grants shoulkd be withdrawn.
travelling gangs would then find their market drying up. Farmers need to take some responsibility
apparently the poc fair in Killorgan the finest assemble of stolen goods for resale.
“Travelling gangs” as opposed to stationary gangs? The language used is so misleading…
Maybe they meant to put “er” instead of “ing”……
Slaves being forced to rob and do time instead of the gangs that enslave then. Slavery in Ireland and probably get no prison time.
A couple of warning shots generally send a clear message to potential robbers and as for the people who buy the stuff, well they’re just as bad
3.14 quays contribution to society…
A family member was at a big outdoor show last weekend and said it was full of traders with benches full of second hand power tools, he had no doubt that they were stolen but was their a Garda about, no…
If they couldn’t steal them then they wouldn’t nick them and many are other farmers who look for a bargain, even some go to their homes to sell stuff in order to have a look around the place and then they get their own stuff nicked later on.
Supply and demand, some farmers do it to themselves?
Even some criminals go to farmers places to sell stuff in order to have a look around the place from selling tools, home repairs, tarmacadam to preaching about Christ… I should have added there?
People in the country should put boom gates like they do in S.Africa http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/9ce3acf214e720e3be85e1baf885f373edf8b5b7.jpg
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