State handing over community to criminals, claims parish priest

A PARISH priest said the decision to close his local Garda station, in Doon, Co Limerick, appeared to him as if the state is “handing over the community to criminals”.

Fr Pat Coffey said the shock in the community was all the more intense as people were still on a knife-edge following a spate of 15 burglaries in the area over the past two months.

Fr Coffey said he was burgled twice during this period.

“The first time I called the local station and the guard was here in five minutes. It was most reassuring when I most needed it.

“The second time, within two weeks, the local station was closed and I had to ring Bruff station, about 20 miles away. To believe that will be the norm from here on is very hard to accept,” Fr Coffey said.

He said that “thankfully” he wasn’t in his home during either burglary. He said the house was ransacked on both occasions and the front door was kicked down the second time.

“There are a lot of elderly people here, some of whom were also burgled. Speaking as a priest administering to them, I see the awful effect burglary has on them. This news about the closure won’t reassure them and that is putting it very mildly.”

He said there was a station in Cappamore, about 11km away, but it was only open during certain times.

“The point is Doon Garda Station was a point of contact for people, it meant everything.

“You have the face to face element and the garda had the local knowledge. And then everything that was going on over the last two months, all the fear, anxiety, anger, lack of sleep.

“This decision seems to be handing over our community to criminals and the like.”

Doon, and another Limerick station in Shanagolden, are among 31 operational rural stations due to close across the country. A further eight stations, which are not operational, will also be closed.

West Cork is particularly badly hit, with four operational stations closing (Knocknagree, Ballyfeard, Goleen and Inchigeela) and two mothballed stations (Castletownsend and Ballygurteen) being shut down permanently.

Michael Collins is chairman of Goleen District Community Council and spokesman of the West Cork Rural Garda Station Retention Campaign.

“To be honest we’re shell shocked in Goleen. The local community is very upset and angry.”

He said their closest Garda station will now be Schull, about 27km away.

“The station here understands the local community and we have worked closely with them. That will be lost. We are getting to the stage where community policing is going to break down in rural Ireland.”

He pointed out that the Goleen area had an extensive coastline and was where the largest cocaine haul in the history of the state was made, along Mizen Head, when 1.5 tonnes were seized at Dunlough Bay in July 2007.