Claim shot fired in Traveller fight
Extra gardaí were drafted in after trouble broke out among mourners attending a burial in the local cemetery at Orr Street.
Most pubs and shops closed for several hours as the Travellers dispersed after the funeral on Tuesday afternoon.
Extra reinforcements of gardaí managed to prevent the row from spilling onto the main streets and confiscated items such as slash hooks, sticks and iron bars which had been brought for use as weapons by the warring factions.
Gardaí confirmed they have received a report that somebody fired a shot during the row.
Inspector Anne Marie McMahon said a row broke out after the funeral and this involved a small number of people.
Inspector McMahon said that most of those attending the funeral had left when the fight broke out.
One witness said: “The row involved a number of men, with some women on the fringes.”
The funeral had taken place of Willie O’Reilly, at around 2pm.
He was in his early 60s and had been residing in Kilmallock for a number of years.
A local businessperson, who did not wish to be named, said: “When word came down the town that there was trouble at the graveyard, businesses did the sensible thing and closed their doors. There was some trouble on the street all right, but there were guards everywhere.”
Inspector McMahon said there were no reports of any injuries and nobody had been arrested.
“It was one of those things which was over quickly,” she added.
