The Lough Swilly
Transport Company is to meet senior Gardai following
a major beach brawl involving up to 30 youths in
Buncrana.
Swilly buses carried 400 passengers from Derry to
the seaside town during Saturday's scorching
weather.
Among them, however, were youths with "'carry-out'
bags and rucksacks full of alcohol" who later became
involved in a drunken brawl with Buncrana youths at
the town's Shore Front. Gardai arrested three people
in relation to the incident.
Lough Swilly Transport Company manager, Connell
Diver, told InishowenNews.com that drivers currently
had the power to refuse passage to people who are
drunk. But he said that's where the law ended.
"We don't have the authority to confiscate alcohol
from young people who may be sober when they board
the bus but who go on to get drunk when they arrive
at their destination," said Mr. Diver.
"After what happened at the weekend, we may have to
take a decision as a company to stop passengers
carrying drink on the bus altogether.
"We can't allow unruly youngsters to ruin things for
our senior citizens and other regulars who are our
bread and butter throughout the year." Mr. Diver
said the company would continue to consult with
Gardai over the best way forward on the issue.
Following Saturday's incident, Gardai set up
checkpoints at Lisfannon, boarded the buses coming
into the town and confiscated alcohol from young
people. Bus drivers in Derry continue to warn young
people that alcohol is likely to be confiscated by
Gardai.
Garda Sgt. John O'Keeffe thanked the company for its
co-operation with the Garda checkpoints. He said
around 30 young people were involved in the weekend
fracas. "We arrested a total of eleven people
throughout Inishowen at the weekend. Three of these
were involved in this fracas at the beach." While
bloody noses and black eyes featured among the
injuries, he said nobody was seriously hurt. He said
Gardai would continue to confiscate alcohol from
underage drinkers and would continue with their
checkpoints where necessary.
Sinn Féin councillor, Pádraig MacLochlainn said: "A
beach should be a place of relaxation and
reflection, not the abuse of alcohol and terrified
children. It points to the wider problems in modern
Irish society.
"The implementaion of a new drinking ban across all
areas of Buncrana including parks and beaches will
give the Gardaí more teeth to address underage
drinking and related anti-social behaviour.
Fortunately, this incident did not lead to death or
serious injury but it is only a matter of time."
Cllr. Rena Donaghy, a member of the local Tidy Towns
committee said members gathered 18 bags of rubbish
and "crates" of bottles at the Shore Green.
She witnessed the earlier fracas and said the scenes
were "unbelievable".
And Buncrana businessman, Francis Callaghan of
Digital Fone O2, said he saw children as young as 13
"running amok" around the town, drinking alcohol. He
said his wife Kay had to leave the beach with their
children for safety reasons. "I felt it wiser to
close the shop early and pull down the shutters in
case they started throwing bottles through the
windows," he said.
"Having said that, it was more an intimidating and
unnerving situation than a dangerous one. I think
the local Gardai did a fantastic job in getting the
incident under control as quickly as they did. The
bottom line here is, it was the parents' fault -
100%. They should know where their children are at
all times to avoid this sort of thing." |
