Violence in Limerick - Minority ruin a good city’s reputation

THERE are criminals in more or less every city and town, and most likely every village, in this country.

There are violent and difficult people making the lives of those around them a misery in virtually every parish and suburb in the country.

Violent crime has become everyday, long gone are the days when a murder would dominate the nation’s headlines and imagination for several days.

We have become inured to the shootings, the stabbings, the rapes and the dreadfully violent assaults. Serious crime has become everyday in all of society.

And then there is Limerick.

Limerick has won a reputation for violence founded on the behaviour of a tiny minority of its citizens because of their excessive behaviour.

All of the many charms and attractions of that lovely city are overshadowed by the deadly war between the city’s drug gangs.

Over the weekend a man was shot dead in broad daylight because he was “loosely associated” with one of the main gangs at the centre of the long-running feud. That he was not an “active player” in the feud makes it all the more disturbing.

Yesterday a partially buried body was found on open ground in the city. It is believed that the discovery may mark the 10th murder in the feud.

In recent days we have seen reports that one of the gangs have bought a bomb-proof 4x4. This high-powered vehicle is equipped with a powerful public address system and the new owners celebrated the purchase by driving around the perimeter of Limerick Prison taunting inmates who are members of a rival gang.

In recent weeks we saw men convicted after an elaborate and successful police operation uncovered a plot to import arms to sustain the feud. Rocket launchers were included in the cache seized by the authorities.

Up to yesterday there have been nine tit-for-tat murders. Gang members have also been linked to a number of murders involving victims outside the drug families.

News of one of the feud deaths sparked a street party in St Mary’s Park. People danced on the streets and crates of champagne were bought in from off-licences.

Murder trails have collapsed because, all of a sudden, witnesses forgot what they had seen.

Nightclub security man Brian Fitzgerald was murdered because he took a stand against the sale of drugs.

Many people living peaceful and productive lives in Limerick will resent that their city is being portrayed as an especially violent place but the reality is that it is,albeit because of the activities of a tiny minority of its inhabitants.

This situation presents many challenges, some of them are social, others educational and even more fall under the remit of the criminal justice system.

One thing is certain though, the vast majority of the people of that city deserve all the support the state can give them.

The tiny minority at the root of all the violence must be exposed to the full rigour of the law and the gardaí must be given every resource to ensure that happens.