Cork's 'no-go' streets: 'It's a jungle out there' for gardaí on the beat
Community Garda Lorraine O'Donovan in Cork City. She says people often film events on the street with little awareness of their context. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
Events take a seemingly violent turn on Cork City’s Oliver Plunkett St.
“Garda, Garda, You might need to take care of this... in case he attacks someone else.”
It’s another day on the beat for community Garda Lorraine O’Donovan. She is called to police what at first glance looks like a domestic dispute on a busy Cork street. Spectators are gathering from every corner around what looks like a warring couple.
The man in question throws himself onto the footpath as if jolted by an invisible force. His glazed expression could be mistaken for someone under the influence of drugs. However, the man is severely autistic. Far from a domestic dispute, he has physically lashed out at his carer. The carer explains the man can’t help his actions. Non-verbal, the iPad lying on the ground next to the man is his way of communicating with a difficult world.
Garda O’Donovan stays with the man to ensure that he is safe and uninjured. She finds out his name and examines the device, relieved to discover it is still intact. The carer is unfazed and smiles warmly at the garda.
“This happens all the time. It’s normal for us.”
By now her colleague has made it over from another part of the street after being alerted to the incident. He thanks Garda O’Donovan for coming to their aid.
The young man remains on the ground. Garda O’Donovan is mindful that he needs time and patience.
However, one “citizen Garda” decides she knows better and rushes to his side. She crouches to his level and attempts to physically comfort him before Garda O’Donovan intervenes and warns that “this is not advisable". The lady quickly recoils with embarrassment.
Within minutes the man jumps up and the group, which provides respite to people with special needs and have travelled from Galway, are eager to put the incident behind them and enjoy the rest of their daytrip.
It's a reminder of the danger of misconceptions. Garda O’Donovan says people often film events on the street with little awareness of their context. Social media platforms can be damaging in this respect, and can worsen incidents which are better dealt with by gardaí.
We make our way along St Patrick's St, which is pretty chaotic for a mid-week afternoon.
A disgruntled busker voices frustration after being upstaged by a ranting woman intent on destroying his act.
“Can you ever do something about her?” the musician pleads. “She’s been annoying us all day long.
“We’re trying to make a living here,” he laments. “We have our licence. It's not just her. The place is riddled with street drinkers. They are at it all over the place and there is nothing being done about it. It’s a disgrace.
"I got assaulted last week. They gave me a box into the eye. They come up to you and it’s the same regulars annoying you. You try your best without getting aggressive with them. When they turn on you there is nothing you can do. It doesn’t make us afraid but it is very annoying.”
Meanwhile, Garda O’Donovan does her best to reason with the lady who dances a neurotic jig and shouts with wild abandonment. The lady is well-known as she can often be found walking barefoot through the streets.
Garda O’Donovan manages to reason with her in the most remarkable way possible.
“What’s your name?” she asks.
“It’s Mona Lisa. My name is Mona Lisa.”
Garda O’Donovan perseveres.
“Alright then, my name is Lisa.”
After gaining her trust, 'Lisa' reveals some sad facts. She has been “off her meds” for some time now. Before that, she claims that she was working full-time and doing well.
Garda O’Donovan fears that in the months ahead the same woman will deteriorate beyond recognition. On this occasion, she finds the means to diffuse the public order breach peacefully and without arrest. Garda O’Donovan is particularly compassionate to those with mental health issues.
Then, there are those lost in a fog of addiction who will stop at nothing to get their fix. While sympathetic, Garda O’Donovan has to prioritise the wellness and safety of the public. This is especially the case in the city’s places of worship which have become attractive hotspots for some of Cork’s addicts.
With this in mind, our next call is St Peter and Paul’s Church. Garda O’Donovan knows the building inside out, and she patrols here religiously to deal with aggressive begging. A dishevelled man sits at the entrance with a tattered paper cup. He immediately empties the contents into his pocket. She asks him to leave.
“Sure this hasn’t even been opened,” he says, “in reference to the bottle of Bulmers peeking out from his bag.” His friend is similarly defensive and wears his self-righteousness like a badge of honour.
“I don’t want to see you here either,” she tells him.
“I’m entitled to go to mass like anyone else,” he protests. “I come here to pray. I’m a devout Christian.”
There is divine intervention in the form of a friendly shout from across the road.
“Lorraine, Lorraine,” calls the bedraggled figure. “I’m off the drink Lorraine. Can you believe I’m off the drink?”
Garda O’Donovan is beyond pleased. Passers-by smile, delighted to be sharing in the touching moment. She is one of the few who never gave up on him.
It isn’t long before her radio crackles with a call to action concerning a rough sleeper on Lapp’s Quay.
The man tells her he was robbed while sleeping rough in the early hours of the morning.
“I’m looking for anywhere, a carboard box, even a wheely bin if it means I am left alone,” he tells her.
“The Simon give me respite now and then. About once every two weeks I get a bed in there but then Monday morning I am out. My address now is wherever I put my sleeping bag. You know I got robbed at 4am this morning? I don’t know who it was because they were wearing a covid mask. They didn’t get what they wanted so I still have my cash.”
“Can you tell me what they did take?” Garda O’Donovan asks.
“All they got was a ziplock bag and lots of snotty tissues.”
His cash is on full display as is his medication for an ongoing medical condition. Garda O’Donovan fears this could make him an easy target. She advises him to request access to one of the Simon Community’s lockers. He can store his belongings there for safekeeping.
In the meantime, she plans to make contact with the Accommodation Placement Service (APS) which provides emergency accommodation and advice and advocacy to homeless individuals and families.
She also urges him to visit the local soup kitchen for a hot meal. His response is vague. The food is not to his taste because “there is only so much steamed chicken you can eat".
Our visit to Parnell Place bus station is bizarre. Garda O’Donovan is checking in on staff after an incident the night before involving an irate woman who had missed her bus.
“She caused a lot of trouble,” a Bus Éireann staff member says.
The worker, who did not want to be named, said disturbances happen frequently at the bus station.
“She was intoxicated and we just wanted to go home,” they said. “We haven’t seen her since.
“There are hardened criminals who come in here. The amount of drugs is frightening. They were smoking crack cocaine and heroin to a point where there were overdoses in the toilets practically every day. We now have to close the toilet at 6.30pm."
His list of grievances grow longer with each minute. “It’s savage. We were finished and wanted to go home. It’s every day. We are crying out for transport police. We have a minister for transport and I wouldn’t have him as a minister for Donald Duck.”
He shakes his head before turning to Garda O’Donovan. “It’s a jungle out there, isn’t it Lorraine?”
Our next visit is to a cosmetics store, which in recent months has been riddled with shoplifters and public order incidents.
Garda O’Donovan is conducting regular check ins to ensure staff are safe at all times.
The store assistant describes a recent incident that forced them to evacuate the shop.
“A customer came in and she wanted me to do her make-up. I explained that appointments have to be pre-booked. She asked me if she could put the make-up on herself if she bought it. Of course, that was fine.”
However, it wasn’t long before all hell broke loose. “She took some eyeliner and covered her whole face with it. She was talking to herself and crying really loudly as if she had been possessed. She clearly had mental health issues but it was so terrifying. We had to leave the shop and stand by the entrance so nobody else came in. Security came from another shop to help us. This was in the middle of the day.
"We were terrified she was a danger to herself and to others. Luckily, gardaí came soon after we called them and they were able to get her out of the store.”
While our shift come to an end, crime refuses to clock out. Garda O’Donovan will do it all again tomorrow as she tackles another day of anti-social behaviour in Cork City.
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