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THERE HAVE BEEN calls for significant investment in garda resources in the north-east of the country following the daylight shooting of a man connected to a gang feud in Louth.
Local reps, as well as TDs and community activists, have urged garda management to facilitate more resources in the Louth area following the shooting of Brendan Maguire – the brother of convicted criminal Owen Maguire.
Brendan was shot as he walked out of a toyshop in a retail park on Tuesday afternoon.
He was travelling with two other men at the time. They sustained no physical injuries. Maguire managed to make his way to Our Lady Of Lourdes Hospital where his condition is still being described as critical.
As a result of Tuesday’s shooting, gardaí have put in place an operation designed to quell any possible revenge attacks on the rival gang. This plan includes high-visibility patrols around the Moneymore and Cement Road areas of the town. Undercover armed gardaí will also be stationed around the town.
‘Running riot’
The Drogheda policing district received 18 new probationer gardaí in recent months. However, according to Labour’s Ged Nash, just three have been retained.
Other flaws within the policing of the district have also been raised this week. Politicians have said that just one garda car is available in Drogheda at any one time.
Nash said that gangs “are running riot” in the area.
“There is an ongoing and violent criminal feud in the town which is wreaking havoc and putting lives at risk,” he said in a statement issued yesterday.
Last week, an overtime ban was introduced and full Armed Response Unit cover was withdrawn from Drogheda.
“Local gardaí have been working exceptionally hard to maintain order and to investigate and arrest those responsible for the mayhem in the town in recent months. They need the support of senior Management and the minister.”
Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan echoed Nash’s comments.
He said: “It is imperative that the general public are guarded from crime and danger. The garda overtime ban which was recently put in place in the district must be lifted in these extenuating circumstances especially as there is a strong prospect of retaliation.
“More garda resources are required in Drogheda in order to meet the threat posed to the people of the town by this ongoing feud.”
Sinn Féin’s Imelda Munster, who is from the town, added: “The people of Drogheda are living in fear.”
The feud
The two feuding gangs have been vying for the lucrative drug trade in the town with reports from local representatives that some children are being forced to work in criminality as a result.
On 5 July, Owen Maguire was shot a number of times at his home on Cement Road in Drogheda. He somehow survived being shot at least four times at close range with a handgun.
He was left with life-changing injuries following this attack and has been receiving specialist rehabilitative care. The attack on his brother is expected to escalate the feud.
Since that shooting, the two gangs have been exchanging tit-for-tat attacks – mainly in the form of firing shots at people’s homes. But violence erupted late last year between the two gangs – one predominantly comprising members of the Traveller community, the other settled men.
In November of last year, a man in his 20s was found beaten and with stab wounds in a bathroom of a house. The man sustained serious wounds to his face and body. Gardaí understand the attackers targeted the man’s knees with a knife.
The gangs had been targeting each other with petrol bombs, acts of vandalism and assaults in the months leading up to Christmas. However, the number of incidents had reduced since the New Year until this week’s shooting.
Gardaí had been keeping a lid on matters by increasing patrols around trouble black spots, as well as carrying out surveillance operations on targets. However, informed sources told TheJournal.ie that the ASU cuts – as well as losing the extra officers the district received prior to Christmas – has resulted in officers being unable to carry out the policing they wish to do.
Responding to the criticism of resources, a garda spokesman said: “Local garda management closely monitors the allocation of all resources in the context of crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies in place on a district, divisional and regional level, to ensure optimum use is made of garda resources, and the best possible garda service is provided to the public.
“Senior garda management is satisfied that a full and comprehensive policing service continues to be delivered and that current structures in place meet the requirement to deliver an effective and efficient policing service to the community.”
Hope the first thing they put in Is a new name
They really need to build a new town or city way outside Dublin. Make some major incentives for businesses and eventually displace thousands of prowl and homes outside the existing cities.
people*
@iohanx: they have three of them.
@Ronan Sexton: then make them cop on
@TonyF: cause Dublin has more people in it….
@iohanx: Portlaoise and Athlone are prime locations for major development and increase in size. Both have good transport infrastructure to most major cities in country. Don’t know why government has never invested heavily in either of these two towns.
@your bustin: at least it’s Irish, remember all those Acorn downs etc built during the “tiger years”
@Ronan Sexton: No, they need to start from scratch similar to a Canberra or Washington DC (but not a requirement for a capital city). A place with no baggage and a new start for tens of thousands. It will eventually suck people in from all over the country freeing up housing in the other populous areas. Build it and they will come as they say.
@Nathan Mawhinney: Dublin took and I repeat “took” around € 400 million strategic EU funding that was given to the rest of the country.
There was proposed to bring in an integrated ticketing service for Dublin allowing Dubs to jump from The Dart to the bus and by the time it came about they could also use The Luas with one ticket. At the time it was proposed The Minister for Transport was Mary O’ Rourke and the cost was supposed to be € 25 million or it could have been punts. By the time The Leap was introduced no doubt the cost has gone up by millions. In the meantime if one of us living outside of Dublin who want to visit we’ll say Saint Vincent’s Hospital you have to go to for instance Galway station buy a ticket to Dublin and then make your way to Connelly or whatever and buy a new ticket for that and buy another ticket to get to Sydney Parade. I am glad that Dublin is more attractive to hoards I would hate rest of the country.
@your bustin: why not a bad place to live as I have for the past almost 40 years. Would Developers Envelope be ok or wink and a nod..
Scandalously low density for such a prime site on a major railway line into town. Could fit 40,000 homes here, not 8,000. Build high density apartment blocks and reduce the number of houses and parks. Sick of this Irish obsession with acres of parks in the middle of the city, go out into the countryside if you want to play on grass. We cannot build a well functioning city if we all think we’re entitled to a front and back garden, as well as a park on all sides. Need to grow up.
@Fred Jensen: your vision Fred of no parks sounds like a great place to bring up children
Fred, a big issue is grid locked roads in the area and every home having two cars…the decision to keep the house density low might be wise because of this.
And don’t mention trains…they are too expensive and everyone doesn’t work in the city center which is just about the only major work place they deliver workers near.
@John Power:
Didn’t say no parks, just fewer. Please tell us how they manage to bring up kids in New York, London and Hong Kong.
@Fred Jensen: Is the Hong Kong blueprint the type of environment you want for future generations ?
@Fred Jensen: Grass-hole , have kids you muppet then tell them you have chosen to live in an apartment to alleviate density issues within the planning law . Muppet
@Fred Jensen: The difference between Hong Kong/ New York and Clonburris is the former have some of the best transport networks in the world, where Clon B has nothing, no light rail, no proper Bus service and wait for it, no road system to move 15 to 20000 residents. You must have proper planning before plopping 200000 people in the middle of the Suburbs or else you will have a social time bomb in 20 years time. I say that as a resident and parent living in the locality..
@John Power: that is what they did in Ballymun
@Fred Jensen:
Shut up Fred, you have a problem for every solution.
@Fred Jensen: this is why ballymun didn’t work….
Too many people with no amenities… we’ve learned our lesson I think.
@Fred Jensen: In the app there is a great feature “mute Fred Jensen”. Problem solved nicely!
@Fred Jensen: Yeah make it like China with no pure air to breath.
I’m sure it’ll rival the other great mass development in Dublin: Adamstown. Think of all the services and finished houses and roads they got!
@The Throwaway: it’s right beside Adamstown!!! About 200 metres from the western edge of Clonburris to the eastern edge of Adamstown. God help us all who live in the area. It’s like being a prisoner in your own home at peak times. And it will only get worse because the Council won’t insist on public transport providers providing a minimum level of service. 400 metres from a bus stop is no use if there are no or few buses!
@Kevin Farrell: Is that accurate Kevin?
Adamstown 2.0
@Tommy Roche: what happened to Adamstown? Some of it was built surely. But let me guess stopped half way thru.
The urban sprawl in Dublin needs to stop. We really need to start building up closer to to the city center down along the dock lands.
Before the preserve every pile of rubble brigade chim in. Dublin city centre dose have many beautiful buildings but there is also a many many ugly and derelict buildings that need to be knocked.
@Thomas Maher: I don’t think it’s a decision that particular developer can make.
@Thomas Maher: I walked thru Dublin city centre last night and while there are occasional examples of good design most of the modern buildings in Dublin are nothing more than unimaginative box shaped structures that contribute nothing to a city with so much potential
To all the professional moaners and complainers here, there is a public consultation process to which I’d like to draw your attention, before you run out of ammo here on the Journal..
@psychiatrist: but I want to moan and complain here! Too lazy to go to the consultation.
Step in the right Direction. .
@The Viking: 8000 houses announced. All I read is complaints.” Oh you cant name it this” .” Surely they could build more than 8000 on that land” By the way. The builder never named it. That patch of land has gone by that name for generations.. As i said. A step in the right direction.
They really should push for Adamstown to be finished first.
Couldn’t pay me to move there!
@Paul: where do you live?
@Paul: not since that ridiculous bill was defeated. How it works is you pay the developer to live there.
@DarkHorse: my Rented Dublin property is near 3Arena
@Matt Connolly: well those on the housing list will have it paid for then!
right beside 2 halting sites, No thanks
Looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
A ghetto in the making.
Should ban the parents driving the kids to school seeing as they are so close.
Let’s hope they build some schools to go with the houses. Usually an afterthought.
@Sean @114: did you even read the arrticle?
@Jim: damn contact lenses. They with their ‘post primary’ schools. Whatever happened to ‘secondary’? Nice to see some foresight for a change.
Give the kids plenty of football pitches to play on.
Wonder will sdcc stick to the plans or will they give in to the demands of developers and change at will. Example Adamstown with little or no amenities. Sold an expensive dream; given something completely different.
Still no plan for a subway system or an integrated affordable transport system then?….. or a directly elected mayor with responsibility for representing the wishes of Dubliners?…. but great a new suburb with all the traffic and more congestion
This SDZ is right beside the Adamstown SDZ – about 200 metres from the western edge of Clonburris to the eastern edge of Adamstown! God help us all who live in the area. It’s like being a prisoner in your own home at peak times. And it will only get worse because the Council won’t insist on public transport providers providing a minimum level of service. 400 metres from a bus stop is no use if there are no or few buses! Bus lanes are no use if there are no buses. The Kishoge train station was built years ago at a cost of millions and remains closed to this day.
Paul gogarty .. :)
The answer is not extending Dublin’s sunurbian sprawl but, instead, to limit it by decentralising more Government offices & service delivery centres thereby decluttering
the CBD and accommodating CBD workers.
This is a load of arse
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