Family Forced To Flee Moyross
Posted 11 years ago, 06 Mar 2013
by Cathal Mc Carthy
A gun attack in Moyross has forced an innocent family to leave their home. The Moyross Residents’ Alliance (MRA) has condemned the gun violence which was inflicted on two innocent families in Delmege Park. One family who have lived in the area for 26 years had to flee their home when it was riddled with bullets only hours after they had been threatened by criminals with being burned out. Chairperson of the MRA, Tom Daly, said it was a miracle that someone wasn't killed. “How somebody wasn't killed is a miracle I warned that things would escalate if the authorities didn't intervene and now good neighbours of mine have had to leave their homes in fear for their lives. And if that wasn't bad enough, they have had to listen to Councillor Maurice Quinlivan on the radio imply that they were established drug dealers involved in a feud with a young gang whose members have access to guns. Why couldn't he have called for extra policing in the area? He doesn't have to put up with this where he lives,” Mr. Daly said. Misinformed: Chief Superintendent Dave Sheehan is taking "positive steps" Mr. Daly also took issue with others who had labeled the victims as drug dealers. “I was told that the Local Drugs Task Force claimed that this family was involved in drug dealing. I personally know the mother, who is a hard-working woman, and the father, who was a great ruby player and a hard-working man. This family was targeted over an argument during which their son was attacked with slash hook. I think it’s a disgrace that our local media can portray these people like that. They didn't name the family, but everyone in Moyross knows who they were referring to. It was like they were being made into legitimate targets, now look what’s happened. “Chief Superintendent Dave Sheehan claims that the Gardaí have taken ‘positive steps’ to monitor the activities of this gang, yet this attack happened at 8pm in plain sight of a CCTV camera and it took the Gardaí over 15 minutes to arrive at the scene. They should have been patrolling Moyross to begin with and then they might have been in a position to intervene or prevent the attack, now that would have been a positive step. Sound bites and spin won’t save lives." Mr. Daly said that this second gun attack had left the community further traumatised. “Brother Thomas of the Franciscan Friars could not believe it. What if children had been playing in the garden of the Kids Club run by the Friars, which is next door?" The MRA has called for those involved in the violence to stop and for the relevant authorities to intervene before someone is killed, but feel that their calls have fallen on deaf ears. “After the gun attack last week I personally raised the matter with the relevant authorities and highlighted it as best I could in the media, but the local papers don’t seem to want to know and instead seem to be dismissing this violence as the result of a feud, as if somehow that makes it okay. Violence, no matter who is involved or why, is unacceptable in any community. There is no such thing as an acceptable level of violence.” Mr. Daly highlighted the consequences of this bad reporting and misinformation “Following reports in the local media, claiming that the violence is the result of a drug-related feud, this innocent family have been called in to Limerick City Council for an interview with Patrick McDermott, the Tenants Enforcement Officer. They are the victims, so why are they being targeted this way? They have been forced from their home. It’s an absolute disgrace. “The television in the sitting room of the intended target was hit. What if one of the children was sitting on front of it, as they often do? They would have been killed. This has to stop. Once again we call on those involved to stop the violence and for the authorities to take action to prevent it in future.”
