Gardai thwart teen Halloween party plans

Gardaí and City Council workers thwarted an effort by teenagers last weekend to stage a massive bonfire party at McGraths Field in Knocknacarra by removing all materials from the site.

Teenagers from different parts of the city had planned a huge Halloween bash for last Saturday night but in the end the bonfire never materialised.

However, a large group of teenagers – and children, some as young as 10 and 11 years old, according to observers – turned up at McGrath’s Field where they assembled in different groups.

There was a large Garda presence on the site from early Saturday afternoon and although local people reported a ‘nuisance and noise’ element from 7pm to 10pm on Halloween Night, there were no reports of serious trouble.

Local councillor, Donal Lyons, said that the Garda presence on the site from early Saturday afternoon was a major help in preventing any hassle from developing.

“I suppose it’s no different to other years at McGraths Field with large numbers of teenagers and even younger children on the site from early evening.

“Some of the youngsters seem to have been taken away by Gardaí but thankfully there doesn’t seem to have been much trouble there,” said Cllr. Lyons.

He said that given the age profile of some of those at the scene, questions had to be asked in relation to parental control.

“Some of those attending seemed as young as 10 or 11 years old. This really is no place for children of this age to be without supervision,” said Cllr. Lyons.

For more on this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune