Junkies on O'Connell St and sorrounding area *READ MOD NOTE POST #1 AND #11*

Grayditch

Nice smart arse way of putting it there, I was wondering if anyone had thought of it, or enquired about it.

Birneybau

Grayditch wrote: »

Does anyone know if Eircom have any plans to keep/ get rid of those phone boxes on the corner of Westmorland street, there? They obscure the view a lot of dealing, mugging and other shady behaviour. Might be step in the right direction to cleaning up that corner, even just a little bit. I mean do Eircom make a lot of money from those 2 phone boxes?

They're gone as far as I know.

harry Bailey esq

fleet_admiral wrote: »

and Dun Laoghaire is crawling with junkies

as is shanhill,bray,monkstown farm,sallynoggin,tallaght,clondalkin,ballyfermot,inchicore,Harolds cross,kilmainham,bluebell,rialto,the coombe,Kimmage etc etc. i can count on one hand the heroin hotspots on the northside, o connell/talbot st/lwr abbey st area being one.mullhuddart,ballymun,swords and parts of darndale being the others.

Lux23

harry Bailey esq wrote: »

as is shanhill,bray,monkstown farm,sallynoggin,tallaght,clondalkin,ballyfermot,inchicore,Harolds cross,kilmainham,bluebell,rialto,the coombe,Kimmage etc etc. i can count on one hand the heroin hotspots on the northside, o connell/talbot st/lwr abbey st area being one.mullhuddart,ballymun,swords and parts of darndale being the others.

Swords?? I'm from there and it's not crawling with junkies.

old hippy

I've asked a few people back home if it's as bad as some of you make out & I'm told there's a penchant for, er, exaggeration when it comes to the situation.

Seriously, is it the apocalypse out there or are there just a standard amount of incidents as befits any modern European city?

drumswan

old hippy wrote: »

I've asked a few people back home if it's as bad as some of you make out & I'm told there's a penchant for, er, exaggeration when it comes to the situation.

Seriously, is it the apocalypse out there or are there just a standard amount of incidents as befits any modern European city?

There are a few spots with undesirables hanging around and some associated street crime. Its a simple policing issue. The sky is not falling. I frequent the southern parts of Dublin 2, and the northern parts of Dublin 4 & 6 daily and see none of these issues.

The problem is a lot of Dublins population are from country towns and have never lived in a city, they are embarrassingly prone to exaggeration. Its cringe worthy reading through the tripe on this website tbh. These lads would **** themselves if they had to live in a large UK or North American city.

Lux23

I have seen worse in Oslo, Paris and Prague - Dublin has plenty of annoying, screeching scrots but for the most part they aren't doing any harm. To anyone but themselves.

petronius

Yes been hassled by junkies in Prague, Paris, Berlin, San Franscico, even Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm yes junkies do hassle you but we should be able to do something about them in our city.
Make sure they are not threatening to other citizens of the city, not a danger to themselves,
and avenues for them to avail of services, mental health, medical, assistance to kick the habit.

Dave!

I've done a fair bit of travelling too, and have never experienced the level of junkie infestation as on O'Connell Street and its surroundings. I'm sure there are ropey parts of Sydney, Barcelona, Madrid, Berlin, Valencia, Rome, Munich, Bangkok, Paris, Lyon, etc., but certainly I've not seen anything resembling the O'Connell Street area. Maybe I've just been an oblivious tourist, or maybe they keep their main thoroughfares and tourist areas reasonably junkie-free? It's embarrassing.

carlmango11

I feel like at this stage the junkies and knackers own this city. I don't want to admit it but you really can't relax in Dublin city centre without an encounter with these people.

I've sat on the new "Rosie-Hackett" bridge 3 times so far.

2 of those times there were junkies with cans being loud and making people uncomfortable. I'm embarrassed to say there was an elderly Australian couple who had to witness them shouting, whistling and drinking cans in plain sight.

How long has the bridge been open? The junkies have already claimed it as part of their territory. Along with the boardwalk, the corner of Aston Quay/Westmoreland St, Wolfe Tone Park and O'Connell Street.

I then walked up to O'Connell Street and saw 2 topless knackers, one with a black eye, with 6 packs in their hands drinking bottles, having the time of their lives. Roaring, whistling. I was again, embarrassed, at the amount of tourists that were clearly uncomfortable.

The police of course were absolutely nowhere to be seen. Even on a hot day when they know the place gets even more infested with scum than usual, even then, there wasn't a single Garda on the primary street through the capital of our nation. They can't even upkeep the law there, nevermind the rest of the city. Pathetic.

And please, spare me the apologist bulls**t. We have a serious junkie problem. The social, commercial, political and historic centre of our capital is swarming with junkies.

allandanyways

carlmango11 wrote: »

I feel like at this stage the junkies and knackers own this city. I don't want to admit it but you really can't relax in Dublin city centre without an encounter with these people.

I've sat on the new "Rosie-Hackett" bridge 3 times so far.

2 of those times there were junkies with cans being loud and making people uncomfortable. I'm embarrassed to say there was an elderly Australian couple who had to witness them shouting, whistling and drinking cans in plain sight.

How long has the bridge been open? The junkies have already claimed it as part of their territory. Along with the boardwalk, the corner of Aston Quay/Westmoreland St, Wolfe Tone Park and O'Connell Street.

I then walked up to O'Connell Street and saw 2 topless knackers, one with a black eye, with 6 packs in their hands drinking bottles, having the time of their lives. Roaring, whistling. I was again, embarrassed, at the amount of tourists that were clearly uncomfortable.

.

Did you consider that they could just be "de lads" having the craic? What proof had you that they were junkies?

Unfortunately for the working population of the capital, there are still a large amount of people who would have previously been employed as nixers who cannot find work since the recession so they spend all day drinking cans and not much else.

I have no doubt that the city is infested with genuine junkies and lowlife scumbags out to cause trouble but the grouping of a select portion of working class people with the same crowd who are shooting up down alleyways really bothers me.

One of my exes' brothers would be the type of lad that sits on bridges topless drinking cans. He just has nothing else to do. He used to be a tiler. Now he's broke and his girlfriend took his kid away because he couldn't afford to look after them both. So he collects his dole, spends it on cans and is fcuking miserable but looks to be having a great time buzzing around with the lads. He has never touched hard drugs in his life, however if I take your assumption that everyone who drinks in public is a junkie, then he must be a junkie too.

Alcoholics are the ones who cause all the racket and make shows of themselves. Alcoholics are the ones puking all over the street and pissing in alleyways. They're the ones having rows with each other on the street cos they're hammered. They're locked and it's easier to say "the state of those junkies" than it is to say "Look at the alcoholic. What are you up to tonight? Getting locko?"

Having lost a very good friend to heroin addiction at Christmas, I can say that when someone is out of it on gear, they have little time for shouting and strutting around topless with a can of Strongbow. Heroin is much more complex than alcohol and I know it's different for everyone but my friend couldn't face people after she would shoot up, she'd sit in her dingy flat with her scaldy druggie friends riding out the high. It's when they're scagging and need a fix that the hassle starts. People assume that the junkies wandering the streets have all just shot up, and that is rarely the case.

There are two problems really with the city - the junkies and the alcoholics and yet the alcoholics don't get called up nearly as much and from experience I can tell you that they'd beat the crap out of you quicker for cash than a junkie would.

Yet another example of Ireland accepting binge drinking and alcohol abuse as "a bit of craic".

Aard

When "a bit of craic" leads to the intimidation of others, I don't think it's a case of people accepting binge drinking. And whether it's from drugs or drink, intimidation and assault are what people in this thread are referring to.

allandanyways

Aard wrote: »

When "a bit of craic" leads to the intimidation of others, I don't think it's a case of people accepting binge drinking. And whether it's from drugs or drink, intimidation and assault are what people in this thread are referring to.

Yes, that's the point I'm making. It just bothers me when people assume all the genuine scumbags going around to intimidate are on drugs, when they're most likely drunk first and backed up by drugs (benzos, pills etc) afterwards.

You can't group every drunk scanger in the city into the same social grouping as junkies. Very different people.

Ken Shamrock

allandanyways wrote: »

Did you consider that they could just be "de lads" having the craic? What proof had you that they were junkies?

Unfortunately for the working population of the capital, there are still a large amount of people who would have previously been employed as nixers who cannot find work since the recession so they spend all day drinking cans and not much else.

I have no doubt that the city is infested with genuine junkies and lowlife scumbags out to cause trouble but the grouping of a select portion of working class people with the same crowd who are shooting up down alleyways really bothers me.

One of my exes' brothers would be the type of lad that sits on bridges topless drinking cans. He just has nothing else to do. He used to be a tiler. Now he's broke and his girlfriend took his kid away because he couldn't afford to look after them both. So he collects his dole, spends it on cans and is fcuking miserable but looks to be having a great time buzzing around with the lads. He has never touched hard drugs in his life, however if I take your assumption that everyone who drinks in public is a junkie, then he must be a junkie too.

Alcoholics are the ones who cause all the racket and make shows of themselves. Alcoholics are the ones puking all over the street and pissing in alleyways. They're the ones having rows with each other on the street cos they're hammered. They're locked and it's easier to say "the state of those junkies" than it is to say "Look at the alcoholic. What are you up to tonight? Getting locko?"

Having lost a very good friend to heroin addiction at Christmas, I can say that when someone is out of it on gear, they have little time for shouting and strutting around topless with a can of Strongbow. Heroin is much more complex than alcohol and I know it's different for everyone but my friend couldn't face people after she would shoot up, she'd sit in her dingy flat with her scaldy druggie friends riding out the high. It's when they're scagging and need a fix that the hassle starts. People assume that the junkies wandering the streets have all just shot up, and that is rarely the case.

There are two problems really with the city - the junkies and the alcoholics and yet the alcoholics don't get called up nearly as much and from experience I can tell you that they'd beat the crap out of you quicker for cash than a junkie would.

Yet another example of Ireland accepting binge drinking and alcohol abuse as "a bit of craic".

A very good point made here about the difference between a junkie and an alco, unfortunately regardless of the drug (alcohol also being a drug) and regardless of the situation (the reason why their drinking and/or shooting up etc) they still litter the streets of North Dublin and make the city a very unpleasant place to be. I was born, raised and live in North Dublin and i despise it. I love Ireland but i hate Dublin, the main reason being the absolute scum that inhabit it.

When i travel the world to all the major cities i feel safe and comfortable, i let go and have the time of my life, bringing someone around the city centre and trying to show them how great Dublin is is a near impossible task. 90% of the time the scumbags in question are harmless, they don't want to hurt or upset anyone but the fact is they do. By screaming, shouting, drinking, hanging out on street corners in gangs, it makes everyone around uncomfortable. Women especially, for any man that can handle themselves or has the slightest understanding of self defense junkies really shouldn't be intimidating, the reality is they are extremely weak and have no idea how to fight, it is only the knives etc that are an issue. Women on the other hand are extremely vulnerable, i'm on edge everytime my missus is in town by herself or with her gf's, i can only imagine what it is like for parents with young children, and this should not be the case.

sabat

A large majority of the heads you see around the streets are 'polyusers' with the commonest combination being booze and benzos. I spoke to a doctor who works with these very people and he told me that it's actually the alcohol thrown into the mix that's doing the greatest physical and mental damage.

Even a casual observer of the drug abusers around town will have noticed how different they look to about 15 years ago-before they had mostly the classic heroin look-pale to yellowish skin, scrawny and starey eyes but still somewhat 'together' when they weren't goofing off, whereas now they age about 30 years in a couple of years and exhibit (to my eye anyway) signs of brain damage judging by their speech and motor skills.

Kiltennel

allandanyways wrote: »

Yet another example of Ireland accepting binge drinking and alcohol abuse as "a bit of craic".

I don't think it's Ireland accepting binge drinking, I think most people just lump the alcoholics / benzo users / skangers in with the junkies as a catch all term.

corner of hells

sabat wrote: »

A large majority of the heads you see around the streets are 'polyusers' with the commonest combination being booze and benzos. I spoke to a doctor who works with these very people and he told me that it's actually the alcohol thrown into the mix that's doing the greatest physical and mental damage.

Even a casual observer of the drug abusers around town will have noticed how different they look to about 15 years ago-before they had mostly the classic heroin look-pale to yellowish skin, scrawny and starey eyes but still somewhat 'together' when they weren't goofing off, whereas now they age about 30 years in a couple of years and exhibit (to my eye anyway) signs of brain damage judging by their speech and motor skills.

Long term alcohol abuse can cause an impact similar to dementia called Wernicke Korsakov or wet brain and symptoms include staggering and confusion I think thats what your friend is describing , stopping drinking suddenly can cause death as can a sudden stop in benzo use.

donvito99

Having lived in Boston now for a while I can categorically say that while the homelessness/addiction problem is substantially/noticeably worse, City Centre and touristy areas are crawling with police and down-and-outs are moved on.

It's a question of resources, more Gardai are required on select street corners in particular. End of.

LostinBlanch

donvito99 wrote: »

Having lived in Boston now for a while I can categorically say that while the homelessness/addiction problem is substantially/noticeably worse, City Centre and touristy areas are crawling with police and down-and-outs are moved on.

It's a question of resources, more Gardai are required on select street corners in particular. End of.

And when was the last time you saw any Guards on street corners? I mean, at least there used to be one by the GPO, now even they're gone and replaced by a bloody parked squad car on the pavement in the middle of O'Connell St.

They're fooling no one. There is little or no visible presence in the city centre, so there's absolutely no deterrent.

petronius

I do blame the lack of visible presence of gardai in the city centre yet even a few meters from Pearse Street and from Store street garda stations you get openly junkies plying their trade and intimidating the public.
I have recently had foreign colleagues visit me and meeting them in town in Mulligans of Poolbeg street, and the embarrassment of them being terrified accosted by junkies, walking from tara street Dart station, or walking from Grand Canal Dock down pearse street(my colleague requested a stiff drink after it). I think they had an interesting visit to dublin, they had visited the Guinness Storehouse the day before, and commented on street-people beggars, alcos and junkies they seen. (i took them for a meal in howth on their last night so as to give them a different view point).
I was also asked by a former colleague who is visiting dublin should he stay in the Clarence Hotel with grand plans of going for an evening or morning jog along the river? I have suggested a hotel on North wall quay and go for a jog on the quays there instead.

chopper6

Bob.Carcass wrote: »

When i travel the world to all the major cities i feel safe and comfortable, i let go and have the time of my life,.

Get a grip...there's no major city anywhere that's completely safe..Athens,Paris,London,Prague,Bangkok,Rome...I've been to all these places and there are areas and situation where you need your wits about you...you can be mugged,pickpocketed or robbed in any City.

I've seen guys openly smoking crack in Barcelona,hookers shooting up in Omonia Square,people selling crack in London and taxi drivers with machetes under the seat in Thailand.

Dublin is an eyesore but it's foolish to say that its more dangerous than anywhere else...in fact most of our social problems are as a result of drinking,not drug use.

Academic

I suppose I could have asked the question that follows in a separate thread, but since it concerns the safety (perceived or real) of a particular public space this seems like it might perhaps be an appropriate place for it.

I haven’t been in Dublin for a few years. What’s the current situation in St Stephen's Green? In my experience it used to be free of the sort of antisocial behaviour being discussed here.

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Ac

Aard

Stephen's Green is fine. I've never had any trouble there. Heard of one mugging and that was almost ten years ago. At any rate, it's closed off at night when the majority of the troublemakers come out.

Academic

Aard wrote: »

Stephen's Green is fine. I've never had any trouble there. Heard of one mugging and that was almost ten years ago. At any rate, it's closed off at night when the majority of the troublemakers come out.

Many thanks, Aard, I'm very pleased to hear it. It used to be one of my favorite places for an outdoor lunch.

Cheers,

Ac

The Wild Bunch

Definitely seen a lot of brass monkies along South William Street and South Great Georges Street recently

corner of hells

The Wild Bunch wrote: »

Definitely seen a lot of brass monkies along South William Street and South Great Georges Street recently

Almost a live update from a roving reporter.

Knob Longman

chopper6 wrote: »

Get a grip...there's no major city anywhere that's completely safe..Athens,Paris,London,Prague,Bangkok,Rome...I've been to all these places and there are areas and situation where you need your wits about you...you can be mugged,pickpocketed or robbed in any City.

I've seen guys openly smoking crack in Barcelona,hookers shooting up in Omonia Square,people selling crack in London and taxi drivers with machetes under the seat in Thailand.

Dublin is an eyesore but it's foolish to say that its more dangerous than anywhere else...in fact most of our social problems are as a result of drinking,not drug use.

Very true, We have a society built around drinking, To criticize the drink is akin to criticizing Ireland itself... But the fear and blame game demands that we blame the drugs !!

loyatemu

who cares whether they're drunk or on drugs - the problem what they're doing, not what they're on (and the fact that the guards and authorities in general don't seem to care).

carlmango11

loyatemu wrote: »

who cares whether they're drunk or on drugs - the problem what they're doing, not what they're on (and the fact that the guards and authorities in general don't seem to care).

Yeah I don't really see why people in this thread have put so much emphasis on what substance they happen to be strung out on. Whether they're alcoholics or heroin addicts doesn't matter at all. Even if they're not heroin addicts I'd still put them in the same category as junkies if they behave like them.

An Claidheamh

carlmango11 wrote: »

Yeah I don't really see why people in this thread have put so much emphasis on what substance they happen to be strung out on. Whether they're alcoholics or heroin addicts doesn't matter at all. Even if they're not heroin addicts I'd still put them in the same category as junkies if they behave like them.

Here here.

It seems as if it's par for the course these days when appearing as a faux liberal to throw in the canard about drugs, almost to excuse their behaviour - domestic abuse, muggings, harassing tourists, attacks, etc.