CLAIMS THAT TWO attempted child abductions took place in Co Cork last week have spread online despite no evidence that either actually happened.

Online posts claimed that two “foreign nationals” tried to snatch a child from its mother in Cork City as well as mentioning another supposed abduction attempt at a playground in Bandon, Co Cork.

The claims spread in Facebook groups that regularly post anti-immigrant content.

“Another attempted child abduction by two men, foreign nationals, near the Victoria Hospital and Paddy the Farmers bar restaurant in Cork,” begins a post, published on 14 September by an administrator on the Facebook group Cork Says No to a Corrupt Government.

“One man diverted the father of the child by asking for his help with his car,” it continues. “As they both crossed the road, another man approached the mother and child and tried to forcibly take the child from the mother, but she held on and started screaming.

“This information directly came from both parents who told a family friend of mine.

“The week just gone, there was another attempted child abduction in the playground in Bandon, reported by three women,” the post concludes.

There is no evidence that either of these attempted abductions occurred, despite claims suggesting that both of them happened in public areas.

The Garda Press Office said that no matching incidents were recorded, either in the week prior to the post about Cork City, or in the week specified for the incident in Bandon.

Currently, all calls, radio traffic, and incidents are logged by Gardaí. Crimes like an attempted child abduction would are entered into the PULSE, a database used by the Garda Síochána, and cannot be deleted.

A crime is recorded when the alleged offence is first reported to An Garda
Síochána and prior to the outcome of the investigation. 

Local councillors in Cork have also denied any knowledge of such an incident taking place.

Paudie Dineen, a councillor for the Cork City South-Central Ward, where the first incident is alleged to have happened, told The Journal that he had heard social media rumours about the supposed abductions but that there was no other evidence that they occurred.

“I have also heard of these incidents BUT only via social media platforms. I have received no formal complaints nor am I aware of any formal complaints to any state agency or person who may be known to me,” Dineen told The Journal by email.

“I like yourself have only seen the online post and nothing else,” Marie O’Sullivan, Councillor for the Bandon-Kinsale electoral area told The Journal by email.

“There was no report of such an event to the Gardaí, and neither I nor any of my colleagues received direct contact from any constituent about an attempted abduction,” Ann Bambury, another Councillor for the Bandon-Kinsale electoral area told The Journal.

“I have seen and heard of other instances of similar false rumours pertaining to child abduction circulating on social media around the country.

“I have visited the play park on many occasions with my children these past two weeks and have not encountered any individual who has mentioned an attempted abduction,” she said.

“If there had been truth to this rumour, the parent or guardian, or members of the community, witnesses, etc, would have contacted the Gardaí our committee, me, or fellow councillors.”

Anti-immigration groups regularly share stories that imply that non-Irish people are dangerous, especially to women and children.

Last month, The Journal debunked a false claim that a “black man” tried to abduct a child in Dundalk. 

There have been cases where non-Irish people have been credibly accused of crimes, such as the ongoing prosecution of a student from India who walked out of a building with a five-year-old “under his arm”. However, these rare cases tend to be covered widely by news outlets, not just on social media.

This year, The Journal has also debunked claims that a “black man” had smashed up display screens at Dublin Airport; that a man charged with weapons offences was not Irish, that a foreign national had brandished a handgun on Dublin’s O’Connell Street; that there was a media blackout on covering crimes by migrants; and that non-white election candidates were criminals or were planning on implementing Sharia law.

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