Despite a reported increase in Garda resources over the weekend, a number of incidents of anti-social behaviour have been reported in certain areas of the city. Knocknacarra was one of the worst affected, with a number of vehicles and buildings damaged in the melee.

According to local businessman Brian Cotter, crowds began to gather in the 'McGrath's Field' area of the suburb at 4pm, with the first calls to An Garda Siochána approximately 30 minutes later.

Three hundred youths were said to be socialising in the area, with between 30 and 40 "drinking bottles of Buckfast and letting off bangers". Over the following hours, the behaviour of smaller group worsened, with youths throwing stones and bangers at local premises and passing vehicles.

"By 8pm, there was a big crowd in the park across from our shop. There were probably about 300 of them, but only 30 or 40 were giving grief. The rest were just law-abiding kids out for a bit of craic on Halloween night. The Gardaí had come up earlier in the evening to move them on but as soon as the patrol car was gone, they were back again. Then a bus that was stopped at a nearby bus stop was hit by a stone, breaking a window, and things went on from there."

Mr Cotter closed his store almost 40 minutes early, as he felt the area was unsafe. However, as staff closed the shop, a rock was thrown through the window, while an empty bottle of Buckfast was thrown through the door after they had left.

"This was an exceptional event. I have been in Knocknacarra for 14 years and never seen anything like it. It was extremely unsafe and it's just great that no one was hurt because it could easily have gone the other way. As I was getting into my car to leave, they were throwing stones and bangers at it. I just put the foot down and got the hell out of there.

"There was a serious need for greater Garda resources on the night, the response from them was just unacceptable. I'm not having a go at the five officers who were there on the night, they just needed more back-up. If proper efforts were made earlier in the night to disperse the gang, all this could have been avoided."

The Knocknacarra shop-owner said the incident was significant of a broader problem in the city that must be addressed urgently.

"A lot of communities across the city have been having problems with unruly kids and something has to be done about it. The majority of the children in Knocknacarra are nice, decent kids with responsible parents, but there are a number of others who are causing trouble and nothing is being done to stop it. We need to come together as a community and intervene."

Galway City West Councillor Donal Lyons branded the situation "out of control" and said a small minority was "giving the whole area a bad name".

"We have had a few hairy ones in the past but this was the worst by far. Once darkness fell, it just got out of control. There were some locals involved but there were outsiders as well, with kids between 12 and 17 years of age. It was fuelled by drink; there was evidence of large-scale drinking, so where did they get the drink?

"They had no fear or consideration for life or limb. The locals were in fear and there were about 70 people in a front driveway belonging to a 70 year old. This is giving the whole area a bad name. These are hardworking decent folk and a few yobs have spoiled it for everyone."

When contacted by the Galway Independent, a spokesperson for Salthill Gardai was unavailable for comment.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment