Society ‘suffers culture of violence and vengeance’

GREATER numbers of people are willing to use extreme violence when they feel they are being “slighted” in some way, a leading criminologist has said.

Commenting on the back of six murders so far this year, including the fatal stabbing of Good Samaritan Warren O’Connor, Dr Paul O’Mahony said there was “a culture of violence and vengeance” that wasn’t there a generation ago.

Sinn Féin councillor Larry O’Toole, a local representative in Mr O’Connor’s area and family friend of his partner, said people are now terrified to confront another person over an incident, such as a noisy party, for fear of being killed.

Mr O’Connor, aged 24, from Ferrycarrig Green, Coolock, north Dublin, was fatally stabbed after he went to the assistance of friends who were trying to get neighbours to lower the noise of their party.

His murder is one of six so far this year: four gangland-style fatal shootings, one last Sunday, and two fatal stabbings, both over the weekend.

In the second stabbing, on Sunday, 29-year-old Sean Murphy was stabbed in a row with a neighbour in the village of Lattin in Co Tipperary.

“There has been an escalation of violence in response to situations where people feel they have been slighted, even in situations where they are just being asked to turn down the music, as in the recent case,” said Trinity College lecturer Dr O’Mahony.

He said this was down to a “macho self-image” of being disrespected or challenged in some way.

“This guy [Mr O’Connor] was a big, strong guy and they [his attackers] found this more challenging. They then lost it. These people whip themselves up into a frenzy over being slighted and won’t let the other people get away with it. It’s linked to drink and drugs and linked to the culture of violence and vengeance.

“What’s changed is the preparedness to use extreme violence, and use weapons, in this situation. There used to be inhibitions there, even among criminals, but that’s now gone.”

He said people were now too afraid to go near neighbours over some issue.

Mr O’Toole agrees: “What people are saying is the risk you take now when you engage with someone, even have a slight tiff with someone, is you end up stabbed to death.

“Unfortunately that’s where we’ve gone as a society. There is a disregard for human life, fuelled by drink and drugs and the availability of weapons, guns and knives.”

Of the six murders so far, three have happened in the Coolock area. The first was the shooting dead of drug trafficker JP Joyce, 30, on January 9 and the other was the gunning down of hardman and street dealer Noel Deans, 27, last Sunday.

But Cllr O’Toole said the murder of Mr O’Connor hit everyone, as they could relate to it. “His death was horrific. He was a decent young lad, making a positive contribution to society. He’d gone to help a friend and was murdered in cold blood.”

Dr O’Mahony said people are not protected by the law in dealing with noisy neighbours, as they are in other European countries. “In Germany, not only do they build better apartments – better soundproofing – they stop parties at 12am. There’s an understanding you don’t do that to neighbours. We’ve been very lax here about respecting neighbours. You are totally on your own trying to enforce decent behaviour.”