Residents mount patrols outside Masses to combat rural crime
A small rural community on the Cork-Limerick border is taking unprecedented steps to combat rural crime.
Locals are mounting patrols outside Masses to prevent break-ins to cars and visiting vulnerable people to offer advice on securing their homes and property.
People living in Glenroe, Co Limerick, which is northwest of the county Cork town of Mitchelstown and nestled under the Galtee Mountains, were forced to set up patrols outside Mass after worshippers’ cars were broken into.
Lisa-Marie Sheehy, the chairperson of Glenroe- Ballyorgan Community Alert, said people did not feel safe in their homes anymore.
She said a few months ago, a 93-year-old man had to fire a shot to scare off intruders.
“It’s scary to think what could have happened to him if he didn’t have the shotgun,” she said.
Gangs of Dublin-based criminals are driving down the M8 and targeting houses in rural areas of South Limerick and North Cork.
Ms Sheehy said it was a “sorry state of affairs” that the community had to go to such lengths to protect itself, but it had no choice because there “was a lack of gardaí on the ground”.
In addition to the Mass patrols, community alert volunteers are visiting vulnerable people and advising them on how to make their homes safe.
“People are scared, they don’t feel safe. We’re telling them if they have to go out then leave the lights on in their house, or turn the radio on. That might deter burglars,” she said.
Ms Sheehy, who is also a county councillor, said the organisation was aiming to get alarms for all vulnerable people living in the area.
A rota system had been set up for Mass patrollers. Ms Sheehy said if more people signed up, it would mean less time spent patrolling for everybody and make it easier to organise.
