Drogheda sees numbers of community gardaí slashed

Councillors call on justice minister to address lack of Garda resources in the town amid increasing population and major drug-dealing in area

A letter written by the Mayor of Drogheda, Independent councillor Paddy McQuillan, to justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said figures he had obtained showed Drogheda 'has lost 50%' of its community policing gardaí since 2022.

Councillors in Drogheda have written to justice minister Jim O’Callaghan to highlight an “unacceptable” cut of well over 50% in the number of community gardaí in the town.

The Louth town was at the centre of a vicious feud between drug gangs, which terrorised families and communities and saw one of the lowest points in gangland violence with the torture, murder and dismemberment of a 17-year-old boy, Keane Mulready Woods in January 2020.