Motorway network sees village become a magnet for burglars

Once considered a quiet outpost on the fringes of the popular tourist haunt of Cashel, recent years have seen New Inn become a magnet for burglars, and now locals fear the situation will worsen with the imminent closure of its Garda station.

The proliferation of motorways across the country have seen New Inn being “blessed” with the M8 within a horse’s roar of its residences and businesses with the consequence of it being little more than 90 minutes from the Red Cow roundabout and about an hour from the Dunkettle interchange.

Welcome in one way, no doubt, as journeys become shorter, but the unintended result is that it’s also become more accessible for criminals. Arrive, break in, steal, drive away, get back on the motorway in a few minutes and be in Dublin or Cork in time for a late supper.

New Inn’s is one of five stations across Co Tipperary to shut for the last time in a matter of days and while all have had much reduced Garda hours of late, nevertheless it’s feared that the elimination of any sort of Garda presence will lead to more crime. Responsibility for the area will to the station in Cashel.

Other stations closing in the county are in Dundrum, on the other side of Cashel, where policing will be run from Cappawhite; Grangemockler which will be taken over by Carrick-on-Suir; Terryglass which gardaí will monitor from Borrisokane; and Rearcross where Garda activities will be run from Newport.

“Every house in the place has nearly been done by now,” New Inn tyre centre owner Ger O’Connor explains by way of highlighting the local burglary problem. “I’ve been burgled twice myself. Seven hundred euro worth of material was taken the last time. No one was ever caught. The whole thing is gone cracked.”

Describing New Inn as an “oldish village,” Mr O’Connor says there’s a fair sprinkling of elderly people living locally, on their own. “There’s huge concern at the minute. We had a sergeant here for 30 years and there was never a cock out of anyone. That’s going back years and things are after changing a lot.”

Local community activist Eileen Bell says “everybody is worried” about burglaries. “Only last Saturday night a couple went to visit their neighbours and when they came back their own house was destroyed. Broken into.”

Other incidents include the parochial house being burgled weeks ago and the oil tank being emptied at the local national school.

“If there was a garda at least he’d be there in the mornings or a few times a week and there would be some presence. The station has been closed a lot over the last few years, but at least there was a trainee garda coming down and they were present.”

As Ger O’Connor, who has been in business in New Inn for the last 50 years, laments: “This is the worst it’s been. Until recently, there was never a thing. Now they know there’s no guards around.”