The grand-nephew of renowned uilleann piper Willie Clancy has slammed the recent violence in Clancy’s native Miltown Malbay involving four asylum seekers and says the government is not safeguarding its citizens.
Joseph Woulfe, who previously ran for election as an Independent candidate in the area, and in the 2024 local elections for Independent Ireland, says the iconic seaside town should be filled with tourism and music, not with screams of violence.
It comes after four men were left with non-life threatening injuries following a stabbing involving four men in the Clare town this week. Milltown Malbay is famed for its associoation with the legendary uileann piper, Willie Clancy, and the Scoil Samhraidh in his name draws huge crowds of traditional musicians, singers, dancers and music enthusiasts to the area each year in honour of Mr Woulfe’s famous grand-uncle.
Just weeks after the summer school, sobering scenes unfolded last Sunday when the stabbing took place at around 7pm. The incident required the presence of three ambulances and three Garda Squad cars, with The Square in the centre of the lively town cordoned off on Sunday night to preserve the scene for a technical examination.
A video purporting to be of the incident, shared widely online, shows one man’s face covered in blood after the incident. Garda investigations continue with no arrests made at this stage. One of the males aged in his twenties received medical treatment at the scene, while two males aged in their thirties and forties were subsequently conveyed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.
All men involved in the attack are understood to be asylum seekers and relocated to Miltown Malbay over the past two years, the Clare Echo reports. In July 2023, Gript reported that the Central Hostel in the town was to become home to 42 single male asylum seekers. The hostel had previously been a Direct Provision Centre, but closed in April 2020, before it came under new ownership in April 2023.
The Clare Echo reported on how locals were left shocked at the scenes, with the incident fuelling safety concerns and causing “a lot of anger within Miltown Malbay.”
Speaking to Gript, Mr Woulfe said: “There’s this idea that everything happens in Dublin. But locally, here in Clare, we are having huge issues. Yes, we are hearing that worrying things are happening in Dublin, but this is also now the case in Kerry, in Cork, in Tipperary, and it’s getting closer and closer to home.
“Now, it’s in our home, here in Miltown. This is a place where you’re not too far from the beach; where people come to unwind, to relax, to play some music. To have some quiet reflection during their holiday periods. And now look what we have? There’s blood on the streets.
“This is not a normal situation. It’s abnormal. Look at our population – there’s only two to three thousand people here. The numbers are up during the summer time and we see a lot of activity. This is not normal for us. We’re used to reading about such incidents or seeing them on the TV, but now it’s our town that’s on the television. That’s the shocking thing.
“This is not harmless fighting; the next step is death. It’s like society is regressing and is being pulled back –people cutting each other up in the streets.”
Mr Woulfe said that tensions have been evident among those responsible for Sunday’s stabbing, and that an incident took place late last year but did not get media coverage.
“Last Christmas, there was an incident, on Christmas Day, where one man’s ear was cut, but it never made the media with it happening when it did. An atmosphere and a tension has persisted since that.”
He claimed that a separate incident took place in a local pub recently, adding: “Now things have escalated onto the street in broad daylight. It’s not good.”
“What is incredible is that people are here on the condition that they are fleeing wars where they could be killed. Yet, what we are seeing is violence taking place here, imported from these other countries. That doesn’t add up. We have an attitude in Ireland where we are very open. It’s very much an attitude of openness and Céad míle fáilte, come on in and we’ll take care of you, but now people are saying, ‘Hang on a second.’
“The Government basically sent a message of Céad míle fáilte, we’ll take care of you with all the help and support you need, no matter where you’re from. All of a sudden, the question has turned to “Why did you cut that guy with a knife? Why are you fighting?” This is not what we were told was going to happen. Now, the media and government are telling people they have to accept this.
“The constant message when these things happen is that the Gardaí are on top of it and are looking into such incidents; that no questions need be asked. But we know that the Gardaí are don’t have the man power.
“When the Garda themselves get involved in violent incidents, we know that they can get stabbed too. That has happened, so the Gardaí are now saying, hang on a second. They are only ordinary people after all – are they truly equipped to deal with this? That’s definitely a concern.”