Sean Murray: Support shown at Alanna vigil represents 'the Ballyfermot we know'

Ballyfermot-born and bred, Sean Murray was heartened to see community spirit shine through as hundreds of his neighbours turned out in solidarity for the families of Alanna Quinn Idris and her injured friend

Alanna Quinn Idris's mother Jaime consoled at a vigil as local community show support of solidarity after an assault in Ballyfermot earlier in the week. Pic Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

It’s rare enough in journalism that the assignment is literally just a five-minute walk from home.

It’s also not common to be reporting on a horrific event that happened just around the corner from where you were born and raised.

And in the space of less than 10 days, two separate events that shocked a west Dublin suburb have led national news bulletins.

“It’s been a tough week for Ballyfermot,” local councillor Hazel de Noirtúin said. “Today our area woke to more shocking news.” 

In the early hours of Sunday morning, a man in his 40s died after a shooting incident on Thomond Road.

It came less than 24 hours after the community had gathered in such a positive way to show their support to victims of an assault just before the new year.

Community shows solidarity

Saturday’s vigil for Alanna Quinn Idris hit different.

The 17-year-old suffered serious injuries in the attack on Thursday 30 December. A friend of hers also suffered injuries in the incident.

Alanna’s family fear she may lose sight in one eye over the attack, and she’s due to be seen by a doctor again next week.

Alanna Quinn Idris sustained a serious injury to her eye in the assault. 

Local representatives, youth workers and activists put their heads together and hastily arranged a vigil for Saturday morning where the local community could show their solidarity with the families of those injured and show their support.

And the people of Ballyfermot answered the call.

It was a cross-generational affair. Whole families made the trip out. The young and the old were equally represented.

As they arrived, placards bearing the words “solidarity” and “support the families” were handed out, as were green ribbons for people to tie around their arms.

By 11am, there were maybe 200-250 people gathered at the civic centre on Ballyfermot Road.

Lydia Marshall, a youth justice worker who lives in Ballyfermot, said the event was an important one for the whole locality.

“Ballyfermot is a really good community,” she said. “Showing up with no political banners, or anything like that, everyone’s leaving all that behind and we’re just showing up as human beings and standing in solidarity after the incident that happened last week.” 

Youth worker Brendan Cummins later addressed the assembled crowd, and referenced the support that had been shown to Alanna since the attack.

Mr Cummins said: 

An incident like this affects not just the families but the whole community.

He said the support given to the family is the “Ballyfermot we know”, while incidents such as the assault is not.

As he spoke, it resonated strongly with me.

I was raised here, went to school here and still live here. Ballyer may have its problems like many other places do, but it also has a strong sense of community that frequently shines through.

The community goes out of its way to support each other, and Saturday’s vigil was a perfect example of that.

Those hundreds lined both sides of Ballyfermot Road bearing the “solidarity” placards.

At a time of great difficulty for some families, this was a way of telling them that they’re supported, that the community is there for them, that they’re being heard.

Putting my journalist cap aside, it was a privilege to witness the scenes as someone from Ballyfermot.

The events of the last week have shocked the entire community. The vigil was about showing families that this community would support them in whatever lies ahead.

The large response from local people would suggest they may have succeeded in getting this message across.

But it was also about calling for such a thing never to be repeated. And, while extra youth supports and more visible policing that local reps are calling for may be action for another day, local TD Patrick Costello summed it up well.

“People just don’t want to see this happening again,” he said.

But in a completely separate incident less than a day later, another act of violence shocked the community all over again.

As the youth worker Brendan Cummins put it, the show of support on Saturday is the “Ballyfermot we know”.

As true in Ballyfermot as it is in Ballincollig, Ballina or Ballybofey, acts of violence are not a thing we should come to expect as being part of the communities that we all know.