Travellers run amok over holiday w/e in Kilkee

Henry Ford III

Apparently they caused a lot of trouble.

THE MAIN car park at one of Co Clare's busiest resorts was taken over by more than 70 caravans and motor homes at the weekend, impeding access to the slipway for the local marine rescue unit and forcing one local business to close its doors.

Up to 300 Travellers from around Ireland and Britain converged on Kilkee late on Friday night and were expected to remain until tomorrow at least.

Kilkee Marine Rescue Service founder Manuel DiLucia said: "We are very concerned about access to the slipway to launch and retrieve our rescue boat. This is the busiest weekend of the year, and despite the weather people will still use the water.

"The poor weather could be a blessing in disguise because if we have to launch a major rescue operation we will have terrible difficulties."

A Garda spokesman said the situation was being monitored "very closely" but there was not a lot gardaí could do. "We have received complaints from local businesses and residents and we are patrolling the area on an hourly basis."

The car park is a pay and display facility and a traffic warden has issued several tickets.

Henry Ford III

Robbery and Traveller 'jamboree' puts damper on Kilkee


The scene in Kilkee over the weekend
The scene in Kilkee over the weekend
The scene in Kilkee over the weekend
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Published Date: 05 August 2008
By Petula Martyn
A BAR in the coastal resort of Kilkee - owned by a Limerick publican - was targeted by a gang of thieves who stole €20,000 over the Bank Holiday weekend.
The theft took place at Scott's Bar on O'Curry Street between 3.30am and 9am on Saturday. The premises, which is owned by Michael Martin, who also owns a pub on Thomas Street in Limerick, was unoccupied at the time.

Kilkee gardai are investigating the robbery and so far no arrests have been made.

The cash was stolen a day after hundreds of Travellers descended on the Clare resort and took over a public car park overlooking the ocean.

Holiday-makers left Kilkee and a number of businesses were forced to close when 60 caravans parked in the town.

The families were moved on by gardai yesterday and "left total devastation behind them", according to the local businessman.

Barriers will be put in place by the council in the coming weeks to prevent caravans accessing the car park in future.

A clean-up operation to remove rubbish left at the site is underway.

Evil_Clown

I was in Kilkee on Saturday and went to that car park with a few friends
When I saw all the camper vans and trailers I was amazed but ventured into the car park anyway. I found it hard to get a space but eventually parked between 2 caravans and sat out on the grass in front of my car so I could keep an eye on it. There were some other people like me in the car park but the vast majority were travellers with a group of men standing at the entrance (no doubt to 'sort out' the cops should they be asked to move)
When we went back to car I noticed a small car parked directly behind mine so I was boxed in. I stood around for a while looking out until a man came out of the caravn beside my car and said 'are you wantin to leave' I said ya and then he said it was good because he could have 'his' parking space back
This is a public car park ...
I had no trouble with them but lots of other people were too intimidated to enter the car park and there was a good bit of rubbish scattered around aswell along with naked kids running amok etc
They will have to put up barriers or something to stop this happening again it disturbs everyone else tryin to visit that part of the beach along with the obvious fact that it's not a halting site

Stuxnet

killkee has enough of them already !

gaf1983

Evil_Clown wrote: »

I stood around for a while looking out until a man came out of the caravn beside my car and said 'are you wantin to leave' I said ya and then he said it was good because he could have 'his' parking space back
This is a public car park ...
I had no trouble with them but lots of other people were too intimidated to enter the car park and there was a good bit of rubbish scattered around aswell along with naked kids running amok etc

"His parking space" - for God's sake. Saying that to someone is in itself an intimidating statement.

Do you know of anyone who did have trouble with them?

finbarrk

What I can't figure out is how could a convoy of 70 caravans get to west Clare unnoticed by the Gardai? Surely if they had spotted them on the move they would have every town on alert to stop them parking where they shouldn't.
And there is the rest of us afraid to drink 3 or 4 pints and drive home in case they spot us.

Milk & Honey

It is absolutely ridiculous that they were not moved out of that car park much more quickly. If the guards were not able to deal with them the army should have been called in. It is the busiest weekend of the year in Kilkee which is a town which depends heavily on tourism.

martinr5232

And what are the army supposed to do?????????

Maybe drive across the caravans with the mowags.

Hitch the caravans upto the nissans and tow them away.

And the travellers wont be able to do anything because the army men will all have big guns.

Maybe bring in the artillery just incase :rolleyes:

Army are aid to the civil power ie they are there to assist the gardai they have no powers over civilians.

DBIreland

Milk & Honey wrote: »

It is absolutely ridiculous that they were not moved out of that car park much more quickly.

From what I heard you need a court order to move travellers along. This group of travellers rolled into town just after the courts closed for the Bank Holiday weekend, so nobody could move them until Tuesday morning.

chuckles30

from what I heard all the legal stuff was in place to have them towed on Saturday, but the gardai simply didn't have the man power. I hope they have the man power to investigate all the subsequent burglaries in Kilkee over the weekend.

knightmare

finbarrk wrote: »

What I can't figure out is how could a convoy of 70 caravans get to west Clare unnoticed by the Gardai? Surely if they had spotted them on the move they would have every town on alert to stop them parking where they shouldn't.
And there is the rest of us afraid to drink 3 or 4 pints and drive home in case they spot us.

Thats what makes this a great country. The mugs that work for a living & mind their own business are the easy targets. The dudes that behave like animals have more rights or at least know them.

The Don

They rolled into town on Friday night and there was about 8 caravans parked in front of the church when I was heading home.

Saturday night myself and the few lads that did venture out stayed in one of the quiet pubs all night. We took a look down town after 1 and it looked really dodgy. There was supposed to be a fair few fights but thats nothing new anyway. Sunday they were all over the place during the day but I didn't see much of them in the pubs that night.

I heard that some families said that they'd never come back to Kilkee again after it.

Scotts got robbed on Friday night, not Saturday.

Link to the OP. Another story on it.

Jo King

martinr5232 wrote: »

And what are the army supposed to do?????????

Maybe drive across the caravans with the mowags.

Hitch the caravans upto the nissans and tow them away.

And the travellers wont be able to do anything because the army men will all have big guns.

Maybe bring in the artillery just incase :rolleyes:

Army are aid to the civil power ie they are there to assist the gardai they have no powers over civilians.

Thye guards can direct the travellers to move under the Public Order Act. The Army can assist. There have been joint Army/Garda checkpoints on the border for years. In a riot in Athlone in the 70s the Guards called in the Army.
The simple thing to do is to surround the area, direct anyone in therfe to move and arrest those who do not do so. The vehicles can be dealt with later.
It is a disgrace that a quiet seaside town was left to the mercy of a rampaging mob for the holiday weekend. The guards were taking registration numbers!! Big thrill. These guys will be terrified when a summons comes to them. Not in the letterbox of course because they do not have one but handed in by some summons server who will have no hesitation in walking into a halting site and identifying the registered owners of the vehicles and politely handing over the summons!

Evil_Clown

Jo King wrote: »

The guards were taking registration numbers!! Big thrill. !

Don't think it would have done much good anyway cos from what I saw most of the caravans were on GB plates
I also heard a story that the guards tried to move them earlier but were politley told to F off and had to wait for man power
But as a previous person said these guys know the law, so they left on Friday afternoon knowing the courts were closed and then got to stay till Tuesday which is exactly what they would have wanted
They will just do the same thing in another little resort next Aug BH weekend I bet

bowsie casey

Evil_Clown wrote: »

....They will just do the same thing in another little resort next Aug BH weekend I bet

They've all pitched up in Belmullet, Co. Mayo for the weekend festival here. An annual occurrence apparently. Lots of GB reg vans round the place.

BLITZ_Molloy

That parking space story is gas. You have to admire their neck sometimes.

The Don

Evil_Clown wrote: »

They will just do the same thing in another little resort next Aug BH weekend I bet

They hit a different town every year alright.

BLITZ_Molloy wrote: »

That parking space story is gas. You have to admire their neck sometimes.

Its not neck that they have. Its lack of shame.

finbarrk

I suppose a few barriers on the car park for that weekend would have stopped them going in there anyway.
Seemingly they came into town on different routes, not in a big convoy as I had thought.