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A RALLY IS being held in Drogheda later today against violence in the area, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar set to be in attendance.
People are being asked to assemble at the Bridge of Peace at 1.30pm, with the march beginning at 2pm.
The rally is being held following the gruesome murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods who was dismembered.
The murder is believed to be connected to a local feud.
The Mayor of Drogheda confirmed last week that he will hold a rally in the town to allow people to articulate how they feel about the ongoing feud and the killing of the teenager.
Varadkar confirmed to reporters on Thursday that he would be in attendance.
“I do intend to be there,” Varadkar said.
“My office is in discussions with the Mayor of Drogheda just on the arrangements because I do want to be there to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Drogheda, but I don’t want to politicise the event in any way either,” he added.
“We just want to make sure that we have the arrangements right.”
This confirmation comes after Varadkar last week said he couldn’t commit to attending but would consider it.
Speaking last week, he said that “the nation is shocked by the depravity of the murder” and that he himself express his “revulsion and total condemnation” at the killing.
“I really want people to know that crime doesn’t pay, that those who are responsible for this will be brought to justice, and also to encourage anyone who does have information to give it to us because we need to secure convictions here,” he said.
Fianna Fáil’s justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan also plans to be in attendance.
“In recent weeks in Ireland, gangland violence has reached new levels with the horrific murder of a 17-year-old child,” O’Callaghan said.
This shocking crime demonstrates the lack of humanity shown by those who carried this crime. It has brought gangland criminality back into the spotlight and is now something which must be addressed.
O’Callaghan will be marching alongside his colleagues Declan Breathnach and Councillor James Byrne. Representatives from other local parties are also expected to attend.
“People are living in fear within their own communities and these thugs carrying out these acts of violence must be stopped,” O’Callaghan said.
Mulready-Woods’ body parts were discovered in Coolock and Drumcondra, both in north Dublin, in the past two weeks.
Gardaí believe there was “no coincidence” about the location of the body parts and are probing if they were left in these areas as a warning to criminal gangs who were associated with Keane.
With reporting by Garreth MacNamee
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Leo is attending as a means to an end for his own personal gain. Leo doesn’t do anything that not in his own self interest
@Chin Feeyin: what has SF. Got to do with anything? Are you presuming I’m a SF supporter because I think Leo is a waste of space. That’s a bit of a stretch.
@Sea Graham: Leo has received plenty of deserved stick for being at times aloof and out of touch. Then when he decides to attend this rally to show solidarity with people he get abused too. Ye are pathetic.
@M: you think he’s showing solidarity with the local people? Your having a laugh or a stroke. There’s not enough rich people there for Leo and FG to give a toss about
@Chin Feeyin: Do you seriously believe that it isn’t a political stunt?
@Sea Graham: grow up
@Sea Graham: yes any photo opportunity he gets before this election he will take. He has took enough already him and his clowns
@Sea Graham: fair play to the community doing this
@Matthew O’Kane: exactly! Fair play to the community. All that waste of space is going to do is his best to hijack the whole media circus for his own political gain.
@Chin Feeyin: difference is he’s local.Not someone who has used drugs and doing it for optics.
Leo promised go to darndale few months back over shootings never went, pure voting opportunity..
@herp: I believe he sent 3 ministers ( Flanagan, Bruton, McGrath and a senator (Noone) to meet with local Gardaí to discuss the violence in June 2019. The upshot was that 28 new Gardaí were assigned to that areas division ( the next day), and a new capital investment in Coolock Garda station to facilitate the new arrivals was announced. (December 2019). Its a start anyway.
@Sim0n: he said he’d go, he didn’t
@herp: Would the locals prefer enhanced policing in the community or a chance to shake Leos hand?
@Sim0n: places like darndale don’t get investment, few miles up road in clontarf different story. Roads bike lanes that should be the same aren’t.
@Sim0n: Leo’s hand ewwww don’t make me sick can you picture where he puts his hands
@herp: God that’s terrible he didn’t go and they ended up with “he sent 3 ministers ( Flanagan, Bruton, McGrath and a senator (Noone) to meet with local Gardaí to discuss the violence in June 2019. The upshot was that 28 new Gardaí were assigned to that areas division ( the next day), and a new capital investment in Coolock Garda station to facilitate the new arrivals was announced. (December 2019). ”
That’s All Leo’s fault so right?
It’s purely for a photo opportunity at election time!
Here says “We need to get convictions here”. I think he will find that there are already more than enough convictions decorating the participants to this horrendous violence. It’s time that leaders address the elephant in the justice room, the courts. I know they are exempt criticism, but people are sick of seeing criminals being honoured. Approximately 55 million per year for free legal aid to just repeat “My client had a difficult time (insert any excuse)”. And this is mostly spent on the same people who got 55 million last year for the same performance. Treat first time offenders with all the help we can but the repeat offending career criminals have to be seen other than as ATM’s for the legal profession. Stop the majority of the wasteful trials and use the money to steer troubled youth on a better path.
@Morning Gus: Spot on. May as well just send thoughts and prayers if nothing happens to change the justice system (an oxymoron at this stage). Equally important is addressing the root causes.
@Morning Gus: Really? As the situation in Drogheda has been ongoing for several years can you point out the convictions there, I’m told there has been precious few prosecutions. Those drug rehabilitation projects in the area, who largely rely on state funding, haven’t seen that increased in a decade. Meanwhile the drug gangs flourish in such an environment, it was reported today that, despite the recent garda attention, they even intimidated a member of the Drogheda gardaí by following him home.
Leo and the government insist that crime doesn’t pay, but that’s not what these communities are seeing at ground level. When families are being intimidated into paying thousands to the gangs, usually having to take out loans to pay them, often on the advice of the gardaí who quietly suggest it’s the safest course of action. The gang members openly have multiple properties, drive expensive cars and wear the finest designer clothes. As we’ve heard recently, even the foot soldiers wear designer clothing most of us could never afford, and we’re being told by people so detached from this it’s almost laughable that crime doesn’t pay. Really? Parents have to struggle in this environment to send their kids to college, while those kids watch others wear plenty of gold and have no shortage of money. And our politicians insist “crime doesn’t pay”, it seems to pay very well.
The gang leaders have taken a hiatus, they’ve left the country, they can afford to leave for a while but this shouldn’t be seen as meaning they’ve given up. These are the type of people with no morality, they won’t pay much attention to marches, they’ll be patient and wait, they know the gardaí can’t afford to keep the pressure up indefinitely. What’s needed is a multifaceted approach, for the gardaí to make their life hell, to prosecute them for anything and everything and for the justice system to ensure they actually get sentences they deserve and not revolving doors and fines they can easily afford. We need CAB to examine every cent and asset they possess and seize everything they can’t explain, if need be, we need to pass new laws. We could do this overnight for the banks. We need to put in place various infrastructure projects for these areas, are there there accessible facilities for kids where they can be introduced to an alternative path, coder dojo, homework clubs, learning trades etc. I’m told in many of these areas there were security cameras installed but they never worked, this needs to be addressed. Nobody likes the idea of living in a police state, however they’re already living in the alternative which is much worse.
RTE will have full coverage of the socks worn by Leo today and how the will impact on the election
@Still-Not-News: I doubt it will have much of an impact people aren’t stupid and don’t believe the media these days
What good will a rally do? You think the type of people who commit these crimes give a hoot about rallies? The person who is suspected of killing this child was out on the streets having been released from prison for previous violent crimes. It’s tougher sentencing we need, not rallies.
We need to introduce whole life sentences over here
Leo is all about himself his a yes man for Europe time the working class people of Ireland get rid of him and his useless buddies in FG/FF……… VOTE SEIN FEIN TIME FOR CHANGE !!
@United Ireland: decided I’m voting party instead of person this time round, sinn fein are top of my list. Only way we are going to see anything different
@United Ireland: SF would bust the country within a year. So if that’s the change you want, vote away. The Irish electorate are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We know the carry on of our current government with empty promises. The other side is the parties with socialists leanings that will throw wads of cash around with gay abandon with total disregard of the long term consequence. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.
@Kev Kev: Yea you’ll see s difference all right !!
@Sea Graham: why not give Sinn Fein a chance FF and FG have being running the country for 80 plus years give Sinn Fein a chance they can’t be any worse than them the country is already in shambles
@Sea Graham: that’s why you vote for SF this time.as they have not a chance of over all power, but can put a stop to the other two doing more of same over and over, again .
We need a new prison for them and not been able to build up convictions and no free legal aid
I would like to pass on my condolences and prayers to Keane’s Family. Such a sad loss he was so young he had his whole life ahead of him. May you R.I.P Keane.
As for Leo get out of office your not wanted here in our ireland. You and your clowns had a chance to fix ireland twice but ye didn’t so its over for FF/FG/LAB GET OUT
It wont make a blind bit of difference.
Leo would go to the opening of a tin of beans if he thought he would gain a vote
Oh another photo opportunity for the clown to see if he gets into power again. Your new job should be in the circus with all the other clowns.
@GiGi Tammy Marie Davies: and the sf clown… with no policies… provos deal !
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