Travellers accused of harassing cemetery visitors
Limerick County Council were called on yesterday to take action to move the travellers.
One local resident said: “They have their washing lines up and it is all wrong that they do this near the entrance to a cemetery. It is very disrespectful. My mother who is 83 goes there three or four time a week to visit my father’s grave feels very intimidated.”
Cllr Niall Collins said there is one large caravan and a transit van in the car park of the cemetery.
He said: “I have received numerous complains from people who have been harassed and intimidated by travellers there. They have a generator with their caravan. The council had moved travellers from that area previously. The council are going to look into this matter immediately as this is a public road. A number of people have contacted me and there is a lot of anger at what has happened. The travellers just cannot pull up where they want. There are bags of rubbish thrown around, but I can’t say who was responsible for this.”
Travellers have moved into a number of sports grounds in Limerick in recent weeks.
A number of families, believed to have come fro England, moved into the grounds of Richmond Rugby club in Garryowen. They left in recent days.
Club president, Kevin Kennedy said: “We are relieved they have left. We are just a couple of weeks away form the start of the season, and we were beginning to get worried that with the wet weather they would ruin the pitch with their vehicles.”
More than 10 caravans are parked in the grounds of Hill Celtic soccer club in Southill.
Travellers also set up a summer halting site near the Parkway shopping centre.
This sparked fury among local residents who said their gardens were being used as toilets by the travellers.
The travellers moved on after gardaí and officials from Limerick City Council served notices on them for illegal parking.
Bridget Casey of the Limerick Traveller Development group has called for the opening of transient halting sites in Limerick to accommodate visiting travellers who move around the country during the summer months.
