A meeting held in Cregmore on Monday evening has highlighted local fears about crime following a spate of burglaries and growing unease about antisocial behaviour and road safety in the area. The meeting was called by Cregmore Area Residents Association in response to recent burglaries.

Concerns about the safety of Cregmore cross were put into stark perspective on the night when a crash occurred there during the meeting. Gardaí and a number of local people had to leave the meeting when a collision involving two cars occurred at the cross. An ambulance was called to assist one injured woman.

Following the meeting, one concerned committee member, who did not wish to be named for fear of victimisation by local youths, said there had been "a pretty good turnout" but that there were "a lot of unhappy and scared people in the area, and a lot of issues to be dealt with."

He said the community were concerned about a spate of burglaries, traffic chaos, boy racers and "youths hanging around the school". The man declined to be named, saying people who had spoken out before had been victimised by local youths.

Bernard Kearney, the Muintir na Tíre representative at the meeting, said it was the largest such meeting he had ever seen, with over 100 people attending and airing their fears about issues which have affected the area in recent months.

The meeting was originally intended to set up a Community Alert area committee, but went on for a number of hours without choosing volunteers for this. According to the residents' association PRO, Seamus Gallagher, between 30 and 40 volunteers, who came forward for the committee, will be contacted in the coming week and a further meeting will take place on Monday 19 November.

According to Inspector Marie Scahill, who attended the meeting along with local Gardaí from Loughgeorge and Crime Prevention Officer Garda Gerard Mangan, the crime rate in Cregmore is not huge. However, she said, there has been "a slight increase" in burglaries, which brought the community together. She said it was "great to see the public interest" as the Gardaí "rely on people to work together with them in the community".

Galway County Councillor Jim Cuddy, who also attended the meeting, said there had been huge changes in Cregmore over the past number of years and attendance at the meeting reflected this, with a variety of nationalities living in the area represented. "There were a lot of new people who wouldn't know each other, but they were willing to work together for the community," he said. From a council perspective, he said, roads and speed limits were specific issues raised that he would be working on with Galway County Council.

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