Anger over Nenagh party gathering
Local residents have expressed anger and upset over dozens of people gathering for drinking parties at a remote area outside Nenagh.
Up to 40 people reportedly gathered at the weir on the Ollatrim River, Rathurles, last Saturday night. Locals said the gathering was made up mostly of young people who brought fuel for lighting fires and left empty alcohol bottles and cans strewn across a wide area.
Another party was organised on Sunday night, with revellers gathering at dusk; they could still be heard at 1am. The matter was reported to the gardaí on both occasions.
On Monday a group of five local neighbours spent two and a half hours cleaning up rubbish discarded after the party. One local said a similar incident happened at the same spot, which is on private land, two weeks previously. Located in a grove of trees, he said the area in question used to be popular with people going for picnics. It was never used on the scale seen over last weekend and the matter has caused great concern locally, he said, adding that those involved were dropped out to the remote location in cars.
A garda spokesperson said there have been several reports of drinking party gatherings in isolated areas around Nenagh over recent weeks. These have been responded to in accordance with Operation Fanacht in support of compliance with public health measures in relation to the pandemic.
Checkpoints and patrols were stepped up in the Nenagh district over the bank holiday weekend. The garda spokesperson said the majority of people encountered with compliant with the restrictions.
A female motorist was arrested on suspicion of drink driving at William St, Nenagh, at 2.35am last Saturday. Several searches were conducted under the Misuse of Drugs Act in Nenagh over the weekend, including one at Church Road where a male was found in possession of cannabis on Sunday night; a further quantity of cannabis was found in a follow-up search at Fawnlough. The overall value of the drugs seized was €1,700, subject to analysis.
A small quantity of cocaine was discovered after a male was stopped and searched by gardaí in the Annbrook Heights area on Saturday. Another quantity of cannabis was found when gardaí executed a search warrant at Cormack Drive on Saturday.
Elsewhere, gardaí are investigating the theft of groceries and clothes from Dunnes Stores on Friday and a single-vehicle traffic accident at Solsborough, which occurred around 7.30pm last Saturday.