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Travelled Feud: Thats settled now bud.

  • 21-01-2009 1:33am
    #1
    Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Our local news paper running with a front page on the travelled feud again. This time to tell us its all over. (We hope!)
    WARRING families, at the centre of the Traveller feud, have shaken hands and made up.

    Ned Mongan from Hillview, Christopher Stokes from Birchwood, James O’Reilly and Patrick Quilligan, both from Williamstown, met on Saturday morning to speak to the Waterford News and Star of their decision to end the bitter feud, which has raged throughout the city since last July.

    “We would like to apologise to the public. It was a disgrace. We want to apologise to the Gardaí for what they went through and we would like to thank the Gardaí, only for the Gardaí someone would have died,” the men told this newspaper.

    Posing for a photo, Mr. Mongan and Mr. O’Reilly said it was to show the public that the Travelling community “have come to a peace agreement”.

    “That’s the end of it,” they said, adding of their community, “they want to get on with life.”

    Only last November the same men had been actively seeking a bare-knuckle fight to sort out their differences.

    However, the men, who are all fathers of young families, told the Waterford News and Star that this was no longer seen as an appropriate means of concluding matters.

    “It’s been going on since July, over a bare knuckle fight, and the Travellers have come to an agreement that there will never be a bare knuckle fight in Waterford again,” Mr. Stokes said.

    “It’s gone on too much. People have been hurt, houses have been burnt, horses were killed. It has to end before someone is killed and it’s not fair on the people of Waterford either.”

    Reflecting on how two children were horrifically injured as a result of the violence, Mr. Stokes admitted: “Bridget Delaney and Jason Stokes could have been killed.” (Bridget Delaney and Jason Stokes both suffered gunshot wounds during the course of the feud).

    Mr. Mongan added: “There is too much damage done. It should never have come to this point.”

    Before the tensions arose, Mr. O’Reilly said that all those families involved had got on “110%”. “It was ridiculous, it had to be stopped. This is very important to us. We can get back to some normality in the town. Every one of us are sick of this,” he said.

    Patrick Quilligan added: “Everyone is terrified, sick of it and terrified.”

    The four men all admitted to actively participating in the violence.

    “Everyone here was involved in the feud and had people injured in the feud belonging to us,” Mr. Stokes said.

    “Everyone was as bad as each other. We will look back at it as a black year and it will be a stern warning to our children and our children’s children.”

    There were a lot of people living in fear in Waterford as a result of their actions, they added.

    “The settled community are living in fear beside the Travelling community, and they are afraid to leave their kids play with the Travelling kids,” Mr. Stokes said.

    “It was ridiculous, it had to be stopped; I have three kids, I want to get on with life.”

    Meanwhile, Waterford Gardaí confirmed that negotiations between the parties involved are ongoing and have reached a tentative stage.

    It is believed the majority of families involved now want to broker peace, the Gardaí said, adding that the talks were centred around getting one final family to come on board.

    Speaking in response to the news, Martin Collins, Assistant Director of National Traveller organisation Pavee Point, said: “This cessation and agreement is to be strongly welcomed - we hope this will be a sincere, durable and sustainable peace.

    “It’s important to recognise that very serious offences have been committed during this conflict, and those responsible will have to be held accountable for their actions.

    “We, like the people of Waterford, Traveller and settled, will be delighted if this initiative develops into a lasting peace, with no return to the dreadful scenes we have witnessed over the past few months.”

    Source: The News & Star

    Also a picture of the two lads shaking. So hopefully, no more feuds which means a peaceful time for the mods :D


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 827 ✭✭✭jimbojazz


    Fair enough they've ended the feud. Now how about them making a gesture to the innocent communities that they've reeked havoc on over the last few months by making some sort of donation or contribution towards the cost of the damage etc.

    A lot of people will take their apologies with a pinch of salt


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 985 ✭✭✭spadder


    Speaking in response to the news, Martin Collins, Assistant Director of National Traveller organisation Pavee Point, said: “This cessation and agreement is to be strongly welcomed - we hope this will be a sincere, durable and sustainable peace.

    WTF- Is it like Gaza down there?


  • Registered Users Posts: 827 ✭✭✭jimbojazz


    Seems to be an incident developing in Birchwood at the moment - large Garda presence, wagons etc. - anyone any news on this


  • Registered Users Posts: 827 ✭✭✭jimbojazz


    Update on incident developing in Birchwood - Garda Helicopter now in stationary position over area


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,641 ✭✭✭gscully


    jimbojazz wrote: »
    Seems to be an incident developing in Birchwood at the moment - large Garda presence, wagons etc. - anyone any news on this

    Without knowing the facts...it would appear that there'll always be an element in every walk of life who will not let things rest.

    It's a pity. Sully's opening post was quite heartenting and showed the four members of the travelling community in a good light. Eleoquent and remorseful and also wary of the effect the goings-on had on the wider community.


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  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    What email?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,162 ✭✭✭Quigs Snr


    Jimbojazz, did you find out what was going on this morning ? At 9:45 there were maybe 6 or 7 police cars and paddy wagons in that small traveller housing estate at the top of the Carrickpherish road. There were 2 police seemingly searching through the grass outside the estate and the police helicopter was hovering directly over the field behind the settlement.


  • Registered Users Posts: 827 ✭✭✭jimbojazz


    No, my cousin lives in Killure Manor, which uses the same entrance as Birchwood and she phoned me to tell me what was going on - but nothing on radio about it. Dont want to make any assumptions either but would think that if the helicopter was there that it must have been fairly serious and well co-ordinated


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,260 ✭✭✭CantGetNoSleep


    "You can fool all of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time"


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,759 ✭✭✭✭dlofnep


    I hope it's ended.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,641 ✭✭✭gscully


    Sully wrote: »
    What email?

    It's a fair cop :-)


  • Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 9,040 Mod ✭✭✭✭Aquos76


    All halting sites were raided at 8am this morning in an operation involving up to 50 Gardai and the Air support unit. All to do with the recent feud. Source: WLRfm News.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    Aquos76 wrote: »
    All halting sites were raided at 8am this morning in an operation involving up to 50 Gardai and the Air support unit. All to do with the recent feud. Source: WLRfm News.

    This was done a few weeks ago up the country also.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,245 ✭✭✭old gregg


    undercover Gardai posing as Travellers in an unmarked caravan have been mixing with the crowd and making arrests :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,118 ✭✭✭jo06555


    this thread started with a peace story but now all the sites have bein searched ????? surely it had escalted if gards needed to do such a major search or maybe this peace story was to try stop such a search from goin ahead.....?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,556 ✭✭✭Nolanger


    Traveller feud over or not - most people living outside the city will still think Waterford is a dump.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,118 ✭✭✭jo06555


    Nolanger wrote: »
    Traveller feud over or not - most people living outside the city will still think Waterford is a dump.
    Why is that what u think?:confused:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,556 ✭✭✭Nolanger


    No comment! - with all the media attention on this feud it will be a long time before the public forget.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 699 ✭✭✭meldrew


    Nolanger wrote: »
    No comment! - with all the media attention on this feud it will be a long time before the public forget.

    In all fairness anybody I've spoken to from outside the city know that its not like that at all , its the same way we dont tar everyone from other areas with the one brush just because of a small minority , most right-minded people know that this kind of thing goes on all over the country and you cant blame all the citizens of a city just because a certain element want to fight among themselves , on another note I think the news and star should'nt be putting these people on the front cover and giving them publicity , it was tit for tat last year , one week one faction was on the cover the next week the other crowd were answering, them for a local newspaper it was fairly cheap journalism .


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 517 ✭✭✭greatgoal


    Nolanger wrote: »
    Traveller feud over or not - most people living outside the city will still think Waterford is a dump.
    im from county dublin and ive been visiting waterford 4 or 5 weekends a year for the past 7 years and i love the place and the people ,and ive never had any kind of trouble while visiting.just because theres a feud between travellers in the city it shouldnt have any bearing on the people or the place.


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  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    I would assume that the general raids (which have been happening all over the country) are not connected to the feud which is settled. If it is, then its just to recover any "left over" items to avoid esculation even if its settled. Obviously people will be wary about such an agreement but thats the same with any type of "peace deal". Hopefully it will be solved tho.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 163 ✭✭Multivan


    Well lads I think ill become a Traveller I live not far from that area and one of the ladies that live in kilbarry have a 09 AUDI A4 lovely car!

    What a life eh!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 345 ✭✭hellfireie


    maybe you could hook up with her and start your own enitech minority group ...!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,759 ✭✭✭✭dlofnep


    Multivan wrote: »
    Well lads I think ill become a Traveller I live not far from that area and one of the ladies that live in kilbarry have a 09 AUDI A4 lovely car!

    What a life eh!

    I'll take the comfort of a house, over the comfort of an Audi any day.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 24,056 Mod ✭✭✭✭Sully


    Indeed. House first, then car :p

    Anyway, there is already a topic on this so lets keep it in the one place. :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 314 ✭✭Elle Victorine


    As far as I was aware from most people I've spoken to, they never even knew the fued was going on to begin with! lol.


    Ah well hopefully it's all done and dusted for everybodies sake. Especially all the people caught in teh crossfire. But the raids could have been over anything really at this stage. Could have had it in the works since before they announcement.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 163 ✭✭Multivan


    hellfireie wrote: »
    maybe you could hook up with her and start your own enitech minority group ...!!

    Yeah baby shagadelic


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