On Monday, I wrote a piece on the strangely coded way we now speak about rising crime rates when they are being experienced in towns and communities which have been impacted by the government’s disastrous migration policy.
In that piece, I referenced to recent statements made by people in the Roscommon town of Ballaghaderreen in regard to crime, but specifically said that this was not a comment on the story which had gripped social media for the entire weekend – namely the investigation by Gardaí into a report of a “serious assault” on a boy whom local media had reported was just 15 years old.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Garda Press office said the following when I queried the matter with them: “Gardaí are investigating a report of a serious assault at Main Street, Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, at around 12:10am on Friday, 1st November, 2024. Investigations are ongoing”.
They later added a note to Editors: “As persons involved in this investigation are children, as defined in the Children’s Act 2001, An Garda Síochána asks that media report on this investigation responsibly and sensitively”.
However, over the course of three days as I requested further information, the answers from the Garda Press Office elicited no further information: there was “no new updates” and An Garda Síochana did not comment on ongoing investigations.
That’s all understandable to a point: the duties of Gardaí regarding the investigation of crimes and the protection of citizens far outweighs any obligations they have to reporters or to media outlets. But in this instance, as AGS were were aware, all kinds of rumours were swirling, especially on social media.
People living in Ballaghaderreen, who say that rising crime has made people afraid to walk the streets of the town, were angry and upset at what they said was the neglect of the area and the concerns of the people who lived there.
A local Councillor said that the assault – which Gardaí had described as serious, remember – was another example of “the breaking down of law and order” in the town, and that while the town previously had 8 gardaí and 2 sergeants, numbers were now “very, very low indeed”.
A candlelit vigil was held by a local group who said that they wanted “to highlight the fact that the town is seriously neglected by those in power”.
“We are seeing an unprecedented rise in crime, antisocial behaviour and even serious crime, whilst we have barely any garda presence, or let’s face it, no real garda presence at all,” the group said in a Facebook post.
On local radio, people shared their fears. “Too many crimes,” one woman told Shannonside, including crimes that “no-one talked about”. She said that things had got much worse with the “rise in population in Ballaghaderreen”. Another woman said the town was changing and that young people no longer felt safe.
Sharon Byrne-Murphy of the Concerned Citizens said that the town was witnessing an “ever-increasing” rise in the population and added: “obviously with that in any community there’s going to be be an increased incidence of crime and anti-social behaviour”. She said that there was a real sense of fear in the community, which had been “bubbling away in the background for a while”, and that women were now afraid to go out walking, pointing to “the vandalism, the dumping, the general anti-social behaviour” in the town.
Local TD, Michael Fitzmaurice, “The promises that were made over the last number of years – Roderic O’Gorman made promises, Fine Gael made promises – what was going to be done in the line of extra policing, extra integration, extra services being brought to Ballaghaderreen, have not been delivered on, and we are now getting phone calls from people, especially from elderly people who aren’t comfortable walking the streets and that’s not the way any town or any society should be,” the TD said.
None of those comments or concerns could be described as “misinformation”, though it is unlikely that the indifferent attitude of the authorities towards the troubles of Ballaghaderreen – used as a “dumping ground” by the government, according to locals – was moved in any way by the controversy.
However, misinformation was certainly being seen across many different platforms: with allegations of gang rape and the supposed identity of attackers being widely shared without confirmation.
As I observed above, emails to the Garda Press Office had not elicited any further information regarding what had happened. Eventually, AGS issued a statement on the matter on Monday afternoon – almost four full days after what they described as a “serious assault” had taken place.
In addition, at around the same time, garda sources told the Irish Mirror that “Gardai are investigating if a sexual assault took place between two underage teenagers in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon”.
Officers responding to an alleged trespass came upon the scene of where two children were alleged to be engaged in a sexual act at a premises on the Main Street of Ballaghadereen at 12:10am last Friday.
Sources say the alleged incident was interrupted by a third party and that when gardai arrived at the scene, the allegations were made to them.
It is understood the alleged perpetrator of the assault is a legal resident of Ireland and is under the age of 18. The alleged victim is an Irish citizen also under the age of 18 – and gardai have sought to speak with them.
Sources have stressed that the incident is a highly sensitive and complex one – that has not been helped by unfounded and complete misinformation spread on social media.
Sources say in particular, allegations spread widely on social media of a ‘gang rape’ in Ballaghaderreen have been harmful to the investigation and are completely false.
It is clear, then, that the release of the information above was not considered by AGS to be detrimental to the investigation, and addressed some of the allegations raised on social media. So why was that information not released sooner?
It might not have prevented all of the rumours swirling about but it would certainly have addressed much of the speculation and genuine concern. The careful distinction regarding legal residents and asylum seekers is also an important one.
Again, it is my view that the role of AGS is not to police speech or get bogged down in deciding what misinformation is – but if they have taken this task upon themselves, then they need to fulfill their obligations in a timely and transparent manner.
The Garda Press Office, in my experience, doesn’t always seem to be forthcoming with information on what it might regard as sensitive cases. One example is the case of Peter Dube, a triple murder suspect from Zimbabwe, who, according to the Zimbabwean press, was in Ireland where he was claiming to be a refugee and living in the Red Cow asylum centre in Dublin.
As Gript reported:
The Sunday Mail in Zimbabwe reported that Peter Dube, who is sought on charges of murdering three people, was a fugitive who had left the country for South Africa and then changed identity when relocating to Ireland where he sought asylum.
Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner, Paul Nyathi, told the Sunday Mail that Dube allegedly “relocated to Ireland, where he sought asylum”.
Dube is alleged to have shot dead the suspected lover of his second wife Nyasha Nharingo in Gweru in April 2021.
Nyasha’s friend Gamuchirai Mudungwe was also shot and killed in the deadly incident, and her sister Nyaradzo also died in the hospital after being shot.
When the story broke on social media, I repeatedly wrote to the Garda Press Office in May 2023, looking for further details. In total, I wrote four emails without receiving a satisfactory reply.
In June, it was being reported in the Irish Times that: “A man from Zimbabwe who is wanted to face charges for three murders there has been arrested by gardaí and appeared before the courts. The Irish Times has learned he faces unrelated, more minor, charges in the Republic”.
I suppose we should be relieved that the alleged crimes committed in this country were minor. But there was no information forthcoming from the Garda Press Office regarding the false identity being used by Dube – although the Zimbabwean press had stated that:
Sources said during his court appearance, Dube claimed to be a Mozambican national and produced an identity document as proof of his nationality. The new alias he assumed could not be immediately established.
“He enjoyed the benefit of doubt, as the Zimbabwe authorities took long to prove that Dube was a Zimbabwean,” said a source.
“When the documentation was later delivered to the Irish authorities, it was too late as Dube had already been deported to Mozambique.
Sure enough, when I asked the Garda Press Office, who had repeatedly failed to answer my previous questions, if Dube had been deported to Mozambique, they finally, belatedly acknowledged: “A male in his 30s was deported from this jurisdiction on 22nd September 2023”.
Nothing in that experience, to be frank, convinced me that efficiency and transparency were driving the responses to my emails seeking information from the press office of AGS.
To be clear, I have great sympathy for the Gardaí in general, who are stretched beyond capacity, are being constantly let down by the government, and often are tasked with the unenviable role of trying to deal with rising crime and disorder which is not being solved by Helen McEntee’s cringy walkabouts.
But I have huge sympathy too for the people of Ballaghaderreen whose genuine concerns and fears are being ignored and whose experience of rising crime rates after a surge in migrants being brought to the town is easily dismissed by the smug, Dublin-centric journalists and commentators who are eager to accuse others of misinformation when it suits their own agenda.
According to the locals and their Councillors and TDs, people in Ballaghaderreen are in fear, are deeply concerned about rising crime, and want assistance. There’s no misinformation there. The full facts of what Gardaí described as a “serious assault” may emerge in time. Until then, can the absolutely valid and important concerns of the local be addressed?