Roscrea terrorised by feuding families

Senior gardaí are being asked to attend another public meeting in Roscrea amid claims that the town is being 'terrorised' by feuding families.

Last year Roscrea attracted national media attention when hundreds of people gathered outside the local garda station to protest about crime in their community. There were a number of large public meetings attended by garda officials during the year.
But last week's meeting of Roscrea Community Development Council heard that little has changed in the time since. Far from it, the town remains confronted with an ever-simmering feud between rival families, and there was a palpable sense of anger and frustation at Thursday night's meeting.
One man said the town is being 'terrorised' by the feuding families. Those involved are brandishing machetes, swords, hatchets and other weapons on the main streets of the town. Several speakers referred to an incident in which a man was beaten with an iron bar on St Patrick's Day.
Another man spoke of entering Roscrea in a Google search and finding references to organised bare-knuckle boxing fights. The town's reputation has suffered immeasurably from what is going on, he said.
Others spoke of intimidation and a lack of protection for people who report crime in their community.

 

Continued in this week's Nenagh Guardian