Locals angry as picturesque Long Walk turned into ‘party central’

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – It’s one of the most sought-after city addresses, an iconic picture postcard row of terraced houses waterside that is synonymous with Galway.

But residents of Long Walk feel like prisoners in their own homes since Covid-19 lockdown restrictions eased and the area was turned into open-air ‘party central’.

A committee of residents of Long Walk and Dun Aengus apartments met on Wednesday to discuss ongoing anti-social behaviour in the area.

They have now called for more Gardaí to be stationed at nearby Spanish Arch to respond quickly to incidents, and for political action.

Separately, a petition of almost 40 residents from the Henry Street area has been presented to An Garda Síochána, highlighting issues with a lack of community police and unregulated crowds. Residents of Claddagh and Woodquay are also expressing concerns about unregulated crowds.

A spokesperson for Long Walk residents told Galway City Tribune that the anti-social behaviour had escalated to such a level in the past three weeks that many are considering moving out.

“What we’re experiencing at the moment is very, very high volumes of people drinking for much longer periods of time than we’ve ever experienced before. It’s like the worst night of Race Week but for three weeks in a row. It’s not necessarily weekends. It’s all week long, pretty much,” said three spokesperson.

“There is urinating in doorways; a huge amount of rubbish and broken glass. Then there’s violence and a lot of fighting. There’s a lot of aggression towards neighbours and just general disregard for polite society. It’s very loud noise, all night long. They bring their music boxes and play loud tunes.”

When confronted, often the groups move on but are swiftly replaced, locals said.

(Photo: Pictured after the meeting of residents and business owners at Long walk were Amelia Colleran, Barry O’Mahony, Sorcha Molloy, Sam Corbett and Eoin Coyle).
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story and more on Garda enforcement at Middle Arch last weekend, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.