Shooting incident should serve as a warning
The bullet extracted from the woman's neck had been discharged from a .22 rifle. Tens of thousands of these 'fun-guns' are used throughout Ireland.
While the case of the Roscommon woman has received media coverage because of its apparently freakish nature, we should not forget that bullets fly in all directions in the countryside most days of the week, many of them in the proximity of towns and villages.
Every year, dozens of shooting-related accidents, some of them fatal, bring shame to an already dubious practice of recreational bloodletting. The range of the .22 bullet up to a mile makes it especially hazardous, even when used by skilled shooters. Unfortunately, many holders of these weapons are teenagers or poorly-trained amateurs. Licensing conditions need to be tightened up to cut down on the numbers of rifles available. At present, almost anyone with a desire to kill or wound wildlife can obtain a gun.
The Roscommon incident also underlines just how vital it is that the Government stands firm on its decision not to allow shooting on state lands. In recent months, umbrella groups representing gun clubs have been lobbying the Government to open up state lands.
Not content with littering the fields, woods, and roads of rural Ireland with the mutilated carcasses of once beautiful wild creatures, they now want to extend this reign of terror into our state forests and parks.
But the biggest threat of all, as evidenced by the Roscommon near miss, would be to public safety.
John Fitzgerald,
Lower Coyne Street,
Callan,
Co Kilkenny.
