Call for action in Rathkeale as Justice Minister meets with Limerick community
Garda checkpoints were placed along a stretch of road Tuesday where at least six vehicles were written off in a number of violent ramming incidents on Monday.
The Minister for Justice walked the streets of Rathkeale tonight in a show of solidarity with locals who called for more gardaí on the beat to tackle a violent feuding in the town.
Minister Simon Harris said any additional garda resources required by Gardai in Rathkeale “would be forthcoming” to tackle feuding factions.
He pledged that those involved in such violence would be pursued by the State: “No part of this country is beyond the reach of the law”.
Mr Harris, who had direct talks with the head of the Limerick Garda Division, Chief Superintendent Derek Smart, said some additional garda resources had already being provided to local gardaí to help them keep a lid on rising tensions between rival factions in the town.
Mr Harris said Monday’s violence was “abhorrent and utterly unacceptable, and will not be tolerated by An Garda Siochana”.
He added that Rathkeale was a “proud town with great people in it”.
Gardaí carrying submachine guns and automatic pistols assisted unarmed colleagues who set up checkpoints in Rathkeale on Tuesday.
Increased armed patrols have been deployed to the west Limerick town to help local gardaí to try to keep a lid on rising tensions between feuding Traveller families in the town.
Garda checkpoints were placed along a stretch of road on Tuesday where at least six vehicles were written off in a number of violent ramming incidents on Monday.
Video footage of the aftermath of the violence showed several cars destroyed and abandoned and what appeared to be a number of machetes left on the road near the damaged vehicles.
Speaking earlier today, Minister Harris said what happened was "absolutely unacceptable". He said he was assured that an enhanced policing presence will continue to be part of the policing plan in Rathkeale over Christmas.
"There is no place for this kind of violence in our society," Mr Harris said. "I know the community in Rathkeale is rightly proud of their town and abhor these appalling acts."
Gardaí were investigating several lines of enquiry as they probed the motive behind it. However, it is understood one theory being examined by investigators is that Monday’s clashes may have been linked to a recent altercation between parties at a pub in west Limerick.
Members of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) carried SIG Suer semi-automatic self-loading pistols and held Heckler & Koch MP7 personal defence weapons as they assisted unarmed uniformed Garda officers at checkpoints.
The armed unit, which was also patrolling the town throughout the day, has been a regular enough visitor in Rathkeale over the past several weeks in response to a number of recent incidents.
Weapons were recovered at a property in the town last month and a mobile home was attacked by men wearing balaclavas and armed with machetes.
Sources said gardaí have also been monitoring members of a group from Limerick city, who are not from the Travelling Community, who it is claimed have been attempting to extort land and property from local Traveller families, which is also fuelling tensions locally.
Chair of the local joint police committee, Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey, today called a special meeting of committee members, local TDs, and senior gardaí to go ahead on Friday. The meeting is “to hear what policing plans are going to be put in place and to see if we can come up with a strategy for tackling this once and for all”.
“This has to be rooted out once and for all, and I am calling on the Minister for Justice to come to Rathkeale to walk the town with myself or other public representatives to see exactly what we need here on the ground," said Mr Teskey.
“We need to have a more proactive approach to policing this, we need to have armed responses from gardaí, we need to have more information-gathering in relation to what is happening, and we need to build up an element of trust between members of the force and the general community.
“We need to arm our gardaí appropriately to deal with this situation — a can of pepper spray is not going to sort this out.”
He added: “For any ordinary member of An Garda Síochána that would have been on the beat on the street yesterday, if they came on that on a regular patrol, they would have been unable to deal with the level of what happened.”
A sense of calm was restored to the town on Tuesday as locals went about their normal business, however, the presence of armed gardaí on the streets was a stark reminder of the violence that erupted on Monday.
“Rathkeale this morning has returned to normal, there is a sense of calm, however, one cannot ignore what did happen in the town last night,” said Cllr Teskey.
“It’s unfortunate to see a minority causing such harm, and I would call on the factions involved to cease their actions immediately before our town is completely destroyed.”
Gardaí said they were continuing to investigate “the serious public order incident” in Rathkeale, on Monday. No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing, a spokesman said.
He appealed to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or anyone with information to come forward.
Gardaí did not disclose details of its traditional policing plan in Rathkeale for the Christmas period, when the town’s population effectively trebles from 1400 due to an influx of members of the Travelling community.
A Garda spokesman said: “A policing plan for Rathkeale continues in place, commensurate with the current policing need, primarily based on community engagement and high-visibility uniform patrols and static checkpoints, supported where necessary by Regional Units.
He added: “Local Garda management, across the country, put in place local policing plans for the Christmas period. These policing plans are monitored and assessed on an ongoing basis and reviewed in line with evolving incidents and risks.”
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