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THE WICKLOW MOUNTAINS, part of Ireland’s “Ancient East”, are fast becoming one of Ireland’s most popular tourist spots.
Thousands of overseas visitors make the trek through the mountains to visit sites such as Glendalough and Powerscourt, while residents of nearby counties also make the journey to take in some of the scenery and nature trails throughout the region.
There are dozens of small parking spots dotted around the mountainous trails and, at a large number of them, is a sign warning people not to leave valuables in their car.
Sean Murray / TheJournal.ie
Sean Murray / TheJournal.ie / TheJournal.ie
Chief Superintendent John Quirke, at Bray Garda Station, told TheJournal.ie that the issue of thefts in cars in the area is “an ongoing issue [they're] trying to tackle”.
“It’s amazing the number of cars that are broken into that aren’t locked,” he said. “But we see a lot of tourist crime too.
These are cars that are obviously belonging to tourists – perhaps a clear sign that it is a rented car – being targeted by roving gangs in areas heavily populated with tourists. The Military Road from Glencree to Sally Gap, Glendalough, Powerscourt and the Sugarloaf are places that have been targeted.
Local councillor Joe Behan told TheJournal.ie that “it’s a problem every year”.
“Anytime there’s good weather in all of the tourist spots, it happens,” he said. Behan said that police and local community groups are trying to be proactive about the problem, with the issue being discussed at joint policing community meetings every three months or so.
The independent councillor said that it is believed gangs monitor the area at certain times of the year for the specific purpose of targeting vehicles to steal from.
Chief Superintendent Quirke said that there have been quite a number of arrests for these thefts, and that the culprits are mainly members of gangs from outside the county.
“They’ve come from Tallaght, Finglas, Ballymun and Mulhuddart,” he said. “They’re using the motorway network to a large extent, and they’d be familiar with the back roads.”
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He said that extra resources allocated from Operation Thor were being used by the gardaí to tackle the crime problem in this region. Technology that alerts gardaí when a specific car registration is spotted on a certain section of road is also used to arrest the culprits.
Brian Dunne, from the Wicklow Uplands Council, said that the group has received similar reports in the last few weeks.
“There was an occasion some weeks ago where seven cars were broken into,” he told TheJournal.ie. “It is really important for people not to be leaving valuables in the car.”
Behan said cars left idle in these often remote areas means that “opportunists” who spot valuables in the car break the windows to get in and steal them.
From the authorities point of view, it is a difficult problem to solve, the councillor said.
“While it would be great to have more security, it’s not practical,” he said. “There are so many parking spots in the region.”
Everyone we spoke to advised motorists not to leave any valuables visible in the car, if leaving on a hike or out of eyeshot of the car for an extended period of time.
Wicklow Uplands Council
Wicklow Uplands Council
Behan said: “One issue is people leaving items such as iPads, mobile phones etc in their cars. Another is simply forgetting to lock their cars. You’d be shocked at the number of people who do it.”
They also said that having this as a persistent problem in the mountains would not be beneficial in efforts to attract tourism in the area. Dunne said:
If recreational users are coming in and out of Wicklow, it’s not the image you want to project. Hiking and walking is such an important part of our offering here.
Behan added: “I can honestly say there’s a case for having CCTV of these areas, but it’d be very expensive. I think we may have to look into it.
It’s great that people want to visit this area, but we urge them to just be careful.
Quirke, meanwhile, said that having gardaí on the ground is the strongest deterrent to criminals in this region.
He cited the recent search that took place in the region after the death of Patricia O’Connor in May.
“For over 10 days,” he said, “we had a sizable garda presence in the area. We were heavily deployed around there searching for body parts.
There was not one break in during that time. It shows what happens when we have our feet on the ground there.
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I left 2 wks ago. Fully vaxed since 17 June. 3* apartment €370 a wk for both of us. €60 meal for 2, inc starters, main and bottle of wine. €1.30 glass of wine €2.50 pint. 28C past 2 wks. Ah sure no, i shouldn’t have.
Leaving on a jet plane? Very memorable song by John Denver, unfortunately many parents will be playing this song in the next few years as there children take flight to a better life. Hopefully iam wrong.
That’s been par for course for generations. Many will travel for lots of reasons. Many will come back also to raise a family. Not rocket science. Ireland’s a great country to live in by many standards, why else would so many return etc.
@iohanx: you’re having a laugh – great country to live in by many standards lol. Mica scandal in Donegal, housing shortage, vulture funds buying up estates, government is shambles, cost of living…
@Paul Furey: That’s false equivalence.
“Others have [list the issue here] too” doesn’t imply it’s equally bad everywhere. Nor does it mean nothing should be done about it. It’s been used to death whether the subject is covid, cost of living, corruption, healthcare, housing, etc.
As well as that, it’s time to move past “the door is open, don’t let anyone stop you”. Eastern European governments have had a similar attitude towards their citizens for nearly 40 years, and the effects are sorely felt. Hardly anyone is saying that now…
@Charles Coughlan: you should contact them. I got mine emailed within a week of my 2nd jab. If you registered on the HSE site for the vaccine then it would have been emailed, so check your spam folder first
@Charles Coughlan: If you got it via the HSE vaccination centres yeah, you should have had it emailed to you by now, so contact them. However, if you got it through your GP (say due to underlying conditions etc) then you’ll be getting a physical “passport” from them rather than the email, and it’s them you’ll need to poke. It’s also likely to be that bit more delayed as they get their own ducks in a row, considering the certs have literally only been available since last Monday.
@Sarah Heaton: I got my vaccination through my G.P. Got my covid passport by email last Monday. Bit surprised by that but maybe others should check their mail just in case.
@Paul Gorry: I encourage my children to travel and live abroad. It makes them more independent and emotionally intelligent. Nothing sad at all about your children exploring the world and understanding other customs and cultures. Living down the road from Mammy all their lives is something I find sad.
@SmallbutMighty: Maybe that’s their choice. What’s extremely sad and should concern you more is how many will HAVE to leave. Not by choice but by government who has made it impossible to live here. Taxed to oblivion, never able to have their own home, extortionate rent, lack of childcare, cost of education, inadequate healthcare unless you can pay a fortune for private cover. The list is endless. There’s a lot more important issues facing our children then slinging a back pack on and travelling for fun.
@Franny Ando: those are all problems that face people all over the world. Living abroad whether by choice or necessity has many many positives in the growth of an individual. There’s an awful sense of entitlement in a lot of Irish these days.
@SmallbutMighty: Nothing to do with entitlement. Living abroad should never be a necessity because you can’t afford to live in your own country. Highest interest rates, one of the most expensive countries in Europe etc so not quite like others. Emigration should be a choice not a necessity to have a decent life.
@Franny Ando: Franny, the woman’s original post relates to experiencing new cultures and growing as an individual. Why did u hijack the post and make it political?
@Joey: All for people broading their horizons. Travel is wonderful experience. No need for the disparaging comment about living close to “Mammies”. Not everyone wants to live abroad a lot want to rear their families in their native country. Definitely no one should have to go abroad to have a better life. If you can’t see that many are being forced to leave this country to do that then you are part of the problem.
@Franny Ando: everyone has to do what they have to do to get by. If that means moving abroad to find work, access better education or afford a house so be it. No one is forcing you it is always a choice. It’s a choice that people all over the world make. My original post was referring to the comment trying to trigger fear that everyone’s kids are being forced to leave and it’s all doom and gloom. I’m merely pointing out that emigration is a good thing for personal growth. Its something we should be encouraging our kids to do. Not making them feel they are being forced out because that breeds bitterness which is unhelpful in
any society.
@emer mcdonnell: because its a big old world out there and over the years I find the people who have travelled or worked abroad are generally more open minded and emotionally intelligent. Nothing wrong with settling at home but before you settle go spend sometime somewhere else. Again I’m referring to the original posters attempt to trigger fear in parents that their kids are being forced out. I’m simply highlighting that emigration does not have to be seen as a negative.
For those thinking of travelling to France, you will soon have to have a QR code or proof of having had covid-19 or a negative PCR test – within the last 3 days, to get into restaurants, cinemas and even supermarkets.
@lelookcoco: I have checked here in France as the QR code is now EU wide, I had to go into the App I was using and update the QR code I had already put there. It took all of 5 seconds. I am using the Anticovid app I downloaded from Playstore on my Samsung. From what I can see, the QR code just updates with a country of origin and an option to click on a box if you are crossing borders. It should/might be the same for Ireland. Good luck.
@Paul Diskin: Thanks for the link. (I backtracked to the link minus the /#scan to find the Import Picture option & used the preview to take a screenshot.) https://covid19passbook.netlify.app/
It’s all good news…
The more are leaving for Spain, Portugal and Italy, the less crowded beaches here will be. Never made sense to me even before covid, but I won’t argue with people…
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