New to Galway? Consult here

In response to the murder of poor Manuela Riedo, I thought it a good idea to create this thread just to highlight a few things, so people know what to do. Mods, if you feel this is needed, please lock and remove

Galway is a fantastic place to go out socialising in, but, like most places, you should take caution to ensure your own safety. If people would like to point out their own, please do so here.

1. Never walk anywhere by yourself. Always stay in groups
2. Avoid anywhere with bad lighting. Or places you are unfamiliar with
3. Ensure you have enough money for a cab/taxi. A list of taxi operators can be found here: http://www.iol.ie/~reddingt/galway%20directory/st/taxi.htm
4. Get a personal alarm that will be provided by a college
5. If you feel that the queues at a taxi rank are too long, simply ring one of the operators directly, arranging a pick-up point. This is advised by many taxi drivers I have spoken to.

Like I said, if anyone else has more tips please post them here. And mods, feel free to lock and remove if needed.

padi89

Use your common sense,that is all.I don't see why there should be a thread like this in the Galway forum.What happened is a terrible crime but no point in pin pointing the issue of how to stay safe to Galway.
Understand you mean well OP but i can see a list of places where you should and shouldn't go tripe coming along.

3greenrizla's

Deleted User wrote: »

[*]Ensure you have enough money for a cab/taxi. A list of taxi operators can be found here: http://www.iol.ie/~reddingt/galway%20directory/st/taxi.htm

wasn't one of the taxi companies offering a "credit service" for students a few years ago where you could leave your ID with the driver & pay for the fair the next day. - I don't know my memory is a bit fuzzy.

I think the most important thing to remember is what your mother always told you.

DONT WALK DOWN DARK LANEWAYS/SHORTCUTS ON YOUR OWN/WITH SOMEONE YOU DONT KNOW/TRUST.

biko

Galway has a lot of drunk people at nighttime.
Someone who seems merry enough can turn bad in an instant.

Self defense tip, carry a small can of gold spray paint in your hand.
If you spray a person in the face* with it it'll not come off easy and will help identify the person later.

*can be considered assault to do this but hey, if you are in dire straits...

Of course, best defense is to avoid confrontation.

sgthighway

Try and deal with the same Taxi/Cab Company all of the time and work up a good relationship with them so if you are every stuck for money and can't afford a cab; you will have a good credit history.

Stay in Groups. If you are out in a Group and one person wants to go home early or are kicked out be man enough to go with them.

Zzippy

biko wrote: »

Galway has a lot of drunk people at nighttime.
Someone who seems merry enough can turn bad in an instant.

Self defense tip, carry a small can of gold spray paint in your hand.
If you spray a person in the face* with it it'll not come off easy and will help identify the person later.

*can be considered assault to do this but hey, if you are in dire straits...

Of course, best defense is to avoid confrontation.

Hmmm, spray paint you say?

/looks thoughtfully at the can of fluorescent yellow spray paint in the corner....

3greenrizla's

3greenrizla's wrote: »

wasn't one of the taxi companies offering a "credit service" for students a few years ago where you could leave your ID with the driver & pay for the fair the next day. - I don't know my memory is a bit fuzzy.

I think the most important thing to remember is what your mother always told you.

DONT WALK DOWN DARK LANEWAYS/SHORTCUTS ON YOUR OWN/WITH SOMEONE YOU DONT KNOW/TRUST.

Cara Cabs offered the service. They're on the list.

Fletch123

If you do find that you've walked down a dark alleyway (keeping to your normal route out of habit, streetlights broken etc) and there's no body around or, even worse, there's only one person walking behind you, you can:

*Take out your phone and phone someone, loudly saying that you'll be there in two mins, or can they come and meet you. Even if you don't have someone pretend to phone someone anyway.
*Put your keys in between your finger knuckles, making a claw (like Wolverine). You can then have some sort of defence.
*If you feel you're being followed and are seriously worried walk into the nearest driveway and go up to the front door rustling your keys and wait for the person to walk by.
*If you do find yourself in a horrible situation use your keys but if you don't have them scratch at the face with your nails, claw at the eyes or try to thump the balls (if male). Scream a lot too.

Hopefully this won't happen to anyone, but I have a friend who was attacked this time last year right in the middle of Galway City at 10 at night and if she hadn't used the key trick she wouldn't have been able to fight him off.

Stay safe!

biko

A friend of mine was followed down and off shop street by a fella that just wanted to say "you have a nice ass" at 2.30 am. And then he left!
There's things you just don't do. Her poor heart was racing.

wet-paint

Did she have a nice ass?
Pix pls.

Lockstep

My cousin was walking a couple of girls home along woodquay when some guy jumped him from behind. Before the attacker could do anything, one of the girls he was with leapt on his back, scratching his eyes while shrieking like a banshee.

He fled.

leninbenjamin

Fletch123 wrote: »

*Put your keys in between your finger knuckles, making a claw (like Wolverine). You can then have some sort of defence.
*If you do find yourself in a horrible situation use your keys but if you don't have them scratch at the face with your nails, claw at the eyes or try to thump the balls (if male). Scream a lot too.

we've had debates on the key thing before. general consensus (from the guys who were well trained in self defense i might add...) was that in many instances you could be fumbling around trying to dig out the keys, or arrange them proper etc. it'd just take too long in most instances. better off taking some kind of preventions...

learned this through the Muay Thai club in college: a more extreme thing to do would be to put a smallish padlock in a sock or piece of material. simply swing at an offender, but keeping the lock fairly close to your hand. it can do a ridiculous amount of damage, if you ever find yourself in that kind of situation, and it's not like your carrying an offensive weapon like a knife.

but hey, if you're that worried about your safety then go take a class in a martial arts/muay thai or something along those lines.

Fionn MacCool

Haha this topic makes me laugh, and is pathetic at the same time.

leninbenjamin

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

Haha this topic makes me laugh, and is pathetic at the same time.

blah.... this is an internet forum. nearly every topic makes you laugh, yet is pathetic at the same time.

forbairt

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

Haha this topic makes me laugh, and is pathetic at the same time.

Thats great mate ... now unless you've got something useful to add please go to after hours or something ...

----

When I was doing beginners kung fu course one of the things they said was to hit the nose ... even a small enough tap on the nose can cause the eyes to water ..
(of course its better not to be in this situation in the first place)

fish fingers

The lane behind huntsman, pure dodge. just stay away from superslaps in eyre sq. after the clubs. Book a cab for somewhere handy, I always used the Great southern for 3am. Its away from the madness. Common sense really.

Karl Hungus

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

Haha this topic makes me laugh, and is pathetic at the same time.

Cop on.

Fionn MacCool

Karl Hungus wrote: »

Cop on.

Nah I mean come on lads. Someone dies and suddenly we feel the need to patronise people. Galway is not a dangerous place, I've lived in dangerous places and I'll tell you that for nothin. Anyone over the age of 11 knows to be careful when they're out, but Galway really isn't a bad place. I've wandered around in the pitch dark by myself and totally trollied and not had any trouble - it's just an unfortunate incident - there's no need to be spreading paranoia.

You're more likely to be attacked in the GPO and that's full of people!

Karl Hungus

That's fair enough to say, but next time get your point across in an intelligent fashion like you have done there, and not in derisive remarks like your previous post.

Zzippy

leninbenjamin wrote: »

we've had debates on the key thing before. general consensus (from the guys who were well trained in self defense i might add...) was that in many instances you could be fumbling around trying to dig out the keys, or arrange them proper etc. it'd just take too long in most instances. better off taking some kind of preventions...

learned this through the Muay Thai club in college: a more extreme thing to do would be to put a smallish padlock in a sock or piece of material. simply swing at an offender, but keeping the lock fairly close to your hand. it can do a ridiculous amount of damage, if you ever find yourself in that kind of situation, and it's not like your carrying an offensive weapon like a knife.

but hey, if you're that worried about your safety then go take a class in a martial arts/muay thai or something along those lines.

Oh yes, a padlock in a sock is not a weapon! If the guards search you and find that they're never going to think you'd use it to hit someone, eh... :rolleyes:

Lockstep

you could probably get away with it.
Say the socks are spare and the lock is for your locker.

There's no law against carrying such items and you are permitted to defend yourself if you truly believe your in danger. Your not allowed to repeatedly carry a weapon and the mundanity of the items means you could just say you cobbeld them together as a makeshift weapon.

Fletch123

leninbenjamin wrote: »

we've had debates on the key thing before. general consensus (from the guys who were well trained in self defense i might add...) was that in many instances you could be fumbling around trying to dig out the keys, or arrange them proper etc. it'd just take too long in most instances. better off taking some kind of preventions...

What I was meant was, if you're walking by yourself anywhere keep your keys between your knuckles. Makes you feel safer, if a potential attacker is sussing you out they may see the glint of the keys and not attack, and also you're ready to scratch the fup out of the attackers face if he does grab you.

Fionn MacCool- It's not that Galway is a dangerous place, all it takes is one scumbag to jump you, in the middle of the day or the night, and because of that its useful to have the tips in this thread.

ambasite

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

I've lived in dangerous places and I'll tell you that for nothin.

go on, where?

Karl Hungus

kickoutthejams wrote: »

There's no law against carrying such items and you are permitted to defend yourself if you truly believe your in danger. Your not allowed to repeatedly carry a weapon and the mundanity of the items means you could just say you cobbeld them together as a makeshift weapon.

This is very bad advice. It might not be illegal to carry such items, but to use them on someone is a very different thing in the eyes of the law, and you'd be looking at assault with a deadly weapon.

For example, hitting someone with a glass in a bar fight will have you charged for assault with a deadly weapon if arrested, reguardless of the fact that a pint glass is not a weapon.

Lockstep

Karl Hungus wrote: »

This is very bad advice. It might not be illegal to carry such items, but to use them on someone is a very different thing in the eyes of the law, and you'd be looking at assault with a deadly weapon.

For example, hitting someone with a glass in a bar fight will have you charged for assault with a deadly weapon if arrested, reguardless of the fact that a pint glass is not a weapon.

I was reading a book from the library called the Self Defence Manuel. It's based around British law but what they drum into you is that it is not a crime to defend yerself using reasonable force.
I'll quote here:

Self Defense Manuel wrote: »

The law even recognises that at time it may be necessary to use a weapon or instrument to protect yourself.This is, as always governed by the concept of reasonable force.
If you honestly feel that you are under sufficient threat as to warrant an armed response, the law permits you to provide yourself with some kind of weapon or instrument. However, while you may choose to obtain a weapon in response to a clear and imminent threat, it is not justifiable to arm yourself just in case or to habitually go armed.

It's not forbidden to use a weapon if you really believe you are in danger. Locks and socks are mundane enough for you to believeable claim you were forced to improvise and were not going around armed.
However, I must stress here that you cannot hit people who MIGHT be a threat. Vigilantism is not acceptable, but self defense is.

leninbenjamin

kickoutthejams wrote: »

However, I must stress here that you cannot hit people who MIGHT be a threat. Vigilantism is not acceptable, but self defense is.

I know it's the law but it all really depends on the situation. if someone squares up to you wouldnt it be better to give them a quick punch to daze them and leg it, rather than let them pull a knife say on ya? sure you could be nicked, but better than the potential of ending up in a hospital. street fights by nature are unpredictable as ****, it can be difficult to act in a rational manner when the situations arise...

and yeah, i guess i dont know about the legality of the lock in a sock, but people carry penknives? i thought it just depends on context. but yeah, it was a course on self defense given with the mentality of above though. just don't hit people on the head with it... it'd be good against someone with a knife though, hit the hand hard enough force 'em to drop it, yet you'd still be out of slightly reach from them to grab or stab for example...

Anywho i don't carry one myself and wouldn't be bothered to . Galway isn't a dangerous city (although if i were back in some of the dodgy areas i accidentally stumbled into in the states though i probably would). i regularly walk home alone at night. done it hundreds of times and not once have been bothered once (in fact my presence walking on the road has intimidated plenty others before lol) apart from the drunk i once helped cross the road (he was in a baaad way, in hindsight i think i saved his life, lying in the middle of a darkish road in darkish clothes...) you just keep your wits about ya and don't take a dangerous route. I'd never walk the line on my own at night. all people need is common sense really... don't take stupid risks.

Lockstep

leninbenjamin wrote: »

I know it's the law but it all really depends on the situation. if someone squares up to you wouldnt it be better to give them a quick punch to daze them and leg it, rather than let them pull a knife say on ya? sure you could be nicked, but better than the potential of ending up in a hospital. street fights by nature are unpredictable as ****, it can be difficult to act in a rational manner when the situations arise...

and yeah, i guess i dont know about the legality of the lock in a sock, but people carry penknives? i thought it just depends on context. but yeah, it was a course on self defense given with the mentality of above though. just don't hit people on the head with it... it'd be good against someone with a knife though, hit the hand hard enough force 'em to drop it, yet you'd still be out of slightly reach from them to grab or stab for example...

Anywho i don't carry one myself and wouldn't be bothered to . Galway isn't a dangerous city (although if i were back in some of the dodgy areas i accidentally stumbled into in the states though i probably would). i regularly walk home alone at night. done it hundreds of times and not once have been bothered once (in fact my presence walking on the road has intimidated plenty others before lol) apart from the drunk i once helped cross the road (he was in a baaad way, in hindsight i think i saved his life, lying in the middle of a darkish road in darkish clothes...) you just keep your wits about ya and don't take a dangerous route. I'd never walk the line on my own at night. all people need is common sense really... don't take stupid risks.

Yeah, the best way to win a fight is to avoid one. It's all very well thinking you know how to fight and everything but if you try to win every fight you'll get taken down eventually. It's a much better idea to learn how to defuse, run and placate. The book I quoted from really drills that into you, I can't keep qutoing from the book forever but you can borrow it from Westside Library once I'm done. Excellent book.

Rather than carring a weapon, I'd reccomend boxing or athletics. Running is a surefire way to escape from most situations, especially when drunks go for you as they have horrendous reflexes.

Please note, I'm in no way on expert on these things, just going on my own personal experience.