‘Abbeylara scenario’ fears during stand-off, tribunal told

A senior Siptu official told a hearing "the Abbeylara scenario was on everyone’s minds" when trying to defuse a five hour stand-off between the Garda Emergency Response Unit and a council worker four years ago.

At an Employment Appeals Tribunal hearing in Ennis yesterday, Tony Kenny said that, in his 16 years as a union official, he had never come across a situation like the one in Feakle on May 13, 2010.

“It was pretty volatile. Joseph Floyd was exceptionally agitated. The situation was dangerous and there was armed gardaí all over the place.”