Underage Drinking in Letterkenny

Martyr

Normally i wouldn't bother giving a thought towards underage drinking or other drug taking because i did my fair share of it while growing up, but thankfully i realised before too long that alcohol is a nasty drug & gave it up.

i only wish that when i was in those teenage years, someone would have tried to make me see sense, but nobody did.

Recently i left an apartment in XXXXXXXX for somewhere else because of the poor conditions & constant trouble from the 'shams' as they like to call themselves in that area.

There was trouble every weekend, & it was safer for me to move out than confront them, because the cops didn't want to know.

And today i heard from a friend that the apartment i onced lived in is now a popular place for drinking & whatever else you can guess.

what i don't understand is why haven't the authorities tried to stamp this out?
i know they are aware, because i've informed them loads of times, & so have others that are or were living there at some point.
one local woman tried to get attention on the radio, in the papers, by writing to local 'politicians' & the situation never improved.

do they just not care?
they don't seem to be too concerned from what i can see & hear on the street..right enough, they might try & appear 'tough on crime' before an election comes around.

i'm not saying, "lock them up" thats moronic, but surely there should be some money channelled into proper youth programmes to get these kids to stop this downward spiral of self-destruction.

the parents can't even look after themselves, never mind these kids that are getting into trouble all the time & it just seems like a vicious circle to me, never ending, only getting worse.

And to Damien Blake, as you're the mayor of the town, what is the point in spending 100,000 euros on a worthless 'art project' at the port bridge when still, there is no skate board park after all the years of requests from local youths.

i'm not a skater, but i remember some years ago all the crying that some locals with nothing better to do on the sean doherty show that 'someone would be killed' with the skaters on the footpaths.

i also remember seeing those same skaters, (because they were chased away from everywhere) ended up spending their time drinking alcohol instead in car parks like behind the leisure centre & the old mart.(public land sold to private developers):mad:

it seems to me, people in the council have their priorities elsewhere, usually for themselves no doubt.

what 'port' in letterkenny, Damien..you mean that one that hasn't been used in decades???

waste of money

Edit by muffler: I dont know how many apartments or buildings are in the place you named but to avoid possible trouble its safer not to be too specific

muffler

A thought provoking post. I have to say i agree entirely with you in relation to the drink and drugs.

The other matters I will leave to Cllr. Blake to respond to if he chooses

jimmycrackcorm

While we're at it we could save a few bob on the library and the museum seeing as we have the Internet instead.

Damien Blake

Sorry, just saw this message as I haven't been on the board in a few days.

Average Joe wrote:

Normally i wouldn't bother giving a thought towards underage drinking or other drug taking because i did my fair share of it while growing up, but thankfully i realised before too long that alcohol is a nasty drug & gave it up.

i only wish that when i was in those teenage years, someone would have tried to make me see sense, but nobody did.

Recently i left an apartment in XXXXXXXX for somewhere else because of the poor conditions & constant trouble from the 'shams' as they like to call themselves in that area.

There was trouble every weekend, & it was safer for me to move out than confront them, because the cops didn't want to know.

And today i heard from a friend that the apartment i onced lived in is now a popular place for drinking & whatever else you can guess.

what i don't understand is why haven't the authorities tried to stamp this out?
i know they are aware, because i've informed them loads of times, & so have others that are or were living there at some point.
one local woman tried to get attention on the radio, in the papers, by writing to local 'politicians' & the situation never improved.

PM me with the info and I'll reply here. I won't be able to comment if I don't know where it is.

And to Damien Blake, as you're the mayor of the town, what is the point in spending 100,000 euros on a worthless 'art project' at the port bridge ...

The majority of that funding is coming through the "Capital Arts Programme". When the central government gives funding for major projects, they allocate 1% of the funding or a public art project. In Letterkenny, the decision was taken to bring together a number of these 1% funds and work on one major project, rather than a number of minor projects. I wasn't on the council when that decision was taken, but I do support it.

We can discuss the merits of the 1% programme in another thread (the money could not have been used for anything but an art-related project), but I think this programme will lead to a landmark gateway for the town.

... when still, there is no skate board park after all the years of requests from local youths.

i'm not a skater, but i remember some years ago all the crying that some locals with nothing better to do on the sean doherty show that 'someone would be killed' with the skaters on the footpaths.

i also remember seeing those same skaters, (because they were chased away from everywhere) ended up spending their time drinking alcohol instead in car parks like behind the leisure centre & the old mart.(public land sold to private developers):mad:

Letterkenny has been allocated E60,000 for building a skate park. Initially, this was to be developed at the new park in Ballymacool. It's now being moved to the new sports centre at Sallaghraine, as this project will be up and running much sooner, meaning we'll have the park in place sooner. We're just waiting on the Department to rubber-stamp the new location.

it seems to me, people in the council have their priorities elsewhere, usually for themselves no doubt.

Any particular case you'd care to raise?

what 'port' in letterkenny, Damien..you mean that one that hasn't been used in decades???

The Port was an important part of Letterkenny's history, and development, so I see no problem in acknowledging that. This is marked in the naming of the Port Road, the Port Bridge and the Port Bridge Roundabout.

waste of money

Martyr

Any particular case you'd care to raise?

All in good time, Damien
elections are not far away.

The Port was an important part of Letterkenny's history, and development, so I see no problem in acknowledging that. This is marked in the naming of the Port Road, the Port Bridge and the Port Bridge Roundabout.


Quote:
waste of money

Yes, a complete waste of money.
Show me a picture of the port as it is today, & tell me how important it is today.

i fail to see what relevance the port has when it isn't being used for anything except.. dumping raw or half-processed sewage from the plant in elmwood downs (which hasn't been upgraded sufficiently, if at all over the years, to reflect the growth of the town)....& in the past illegal dumping by a well known local waste disposal company which i obviously can't name..but i'm sure some of your buddies in the council know who i'm talking about.

yeah, i guess you're right, it has played a major role in the history & development of Letterkennys sewage & waste disposal system, thats true.

so why not erect a big toilet bowl at the port bridge??? or maybe a huge wheely bin???

because that is basically all the river swilly/port has been used for over the last number of years anyway.

forgot to mention that the young people abusing alcohol & drugs were arrested yesterday..not long after i posted.
but arresting them, bringing them to court & sending them to institutions doesn't solve anything.. it only makes them worse.

i'm not saying i understand them, but what i do know is that the system has failed them, its tragic, because it doesn't have to be like that.

if only there was a political will to provide something for these kids to do, instead of always complaining about them getting into trouble, we'd have a much better society for all.

Damien Blake

Average Joe wrote:

All in good time, Damien
elections are not far away.

Your comments were about councillors, and the next local elections are three years away. If you've anything to say (or anything you'd like me to comment on) you might as well get it off your chest now.

Average Joe wrote:

Yes, a complete waste of money.
Show me a picture of the port as it is today, & tell me how important it is today.

i fail to see what relevance the port has when it isn't being used for anything except..

The Polestar (the piece for the Port Bridge) is, in my opinion, a fantastic piece of art which will mark a great entry point for the town. It is a fusion of celtic art and our port heritage. If anywhere in Letterkenny is fitting for a port-themed piece of artwork, it's the Port Bridge area. Would you propose renaming the Port Bridge and Port Road?

Average Joe wrote:

dumping raw or half-processed sewage from the plant in elmwood downs (which hasn't been upgraded sufficiently, if at all over the years, to reflect the growth of the town)

No, it hasn't. It's woefully understrength for a town the size of Letterkenny. So what are we doing? We're upgrading it. It has been painfully slow, and started long before I was on the council. There is a design in place, and land has been acquired. It will have to go through various planning stages, but the project is very far on.

Average Joe wrote:

....& in the past illegal dumping by a well known local waste disposal company which i obviously can't name..but i'm sure some of your buddies in the council know who i'm talking about.

Any illegal dumping should be reported to the Council, we take a very tough line against it. Letterkenny TC employs a full time litter warden, who has been extremely succesful in his first year in the job. He'd love to hear about your allegation, I'll gladly pass it on if you wish to PM me.

Average Joe wrote:

yeah, i guess you're right, it has played a major role in the history & development of Letterkennys sewage & waste disposal system, thats true.

so why not erect a big toilet bowl at the port bridge??? or maybe a huge wheely bin???

because that is basically all the river swilly/port has been used for over the last number of years anyway.

Do I really need to answer that?

Average Joe wrote:

forgot to mention that the young people abusing alcohol & drugs were arrested yesterday..not long after i posted.
but arresting them, bringing them to court & sending them to institutions doesn't solve anything.. it only makes them worse.

i'm not saying i understand them, but what i do know is that the system has failed them, its tragic, because it doesn't have to be like that.

I'm not really qualified to talk about the criminal justice system, but I will agree that it fails to do enough for young offenders, and young people at risk of becoming offenders.

Average Joe wrote:

if only there was a political will to provide something for these kids to do, instead of always complaining about them getting into trouble, we'd have a much better society for all.

Two points:

1. Letterkenny TC has one of the best leisure, recreational and parks programmes of any local authority in Ireland. The Town Park is the envy of many local authorities, and we're currently designing a 30%+ bigger and better park at Ballymacool, not to mention the new sports centre, skate park, and various areas of green space around the town.
2. If the politicians aren't doing enough for you, then you can get involved. All it takes (for a local election) is either membership of a political party who will back you, or 15 signatures to stand as an independent. For me, the canvas took a minimum of 4 hours a day for 7 weeks.

Martyr

Your comments were about councillors, and the next local elections are three years away. If you've anything to say (or anything you'd like me to comment on) you might as well get it off your chest now.

what comments exactly?
i have nothing bad to say about you at all.
my issues would be with existing & past members of the TC whom you would probably know very well.
don't want to discuss those individuals on here right now incase there is no truth in some or all of the stories i've heard about them.

The Polestar (the piece for the Port Bridge) is, in my opinion, a fantastic piece of art which will mark a great entry point for the town. It is a fusion of celtic art and our port heritage. If anywhere in Letterkenny is fitting for a port-themed piece of artwork, it's the Port Bridge area. Would you propose renaming the Port Bridge and Port Road?

in my opinion, its a waste of money & i believe if you asked ALL people in letterkenny, overall a majority would say the same thing.(actually most people don't know the exact budget of the structure, too worried to tell us?)

there are more important things that need taking care of than what impression outsiders have of the town.i couldn't care less what tourists think of letterkenny, alot of them complain anyway about this or that, so who cares.
ok, the town looks nice on the outside..look at the inside, that is more important.didn't your mother ever tell you, its whats on the inside that counts.?

look at the spire in dublin, EVERYONE i've ever talked to about that said it was a total complete waste of money.
what was it? 3 million euro??
imagine how many hospitals could have benefited from that!!

imagine the amount of dublin inner city homeless you could have provided shelter for!!
do these things not matter?

i wouldn't propose renaming the port bridge or road, no..

Any illegal dumping should be reported to the Council, we take a very tough line against it. Letterkenny TC employs a full time litter warden, who has been extremely succesful in his first year in the job. He'd love to hear about your allegation, I'll gladly pass it on if you wish to PM me.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA
sorry, but that was funny, especially

we take a very tough line against it

you might take a tough line against it, but most of the TC probably wouldn't have the same view.
also, i don't want to embarass you with a picture, but that bin still isn't fixed!!!!

Do I really need to answer that?

obviously not, i was joking, but when i was down at the port about 5 years ago, i could clearly see unprocessed sewage along the banks of the swilly...

i'm not saying you deny having knowledge of local companies dumping illegally around the town, but i was informed about 18 months ago that it did happen, in the river swilly & that the company in question was fined,(apparently, although no-one knows) had their licence revoked, only to get it back a few weeks later from the TC.

know anything about it?

maybe this rumour is all just fantasy, but it came from a very reliable source.

if you take a tough line on rubbish.
do me a favour, go down to westside apartments lower main street, take a left after the wt bar.(you know the one)
take a left again into the carpark, & you should see about 100-150 bags of rubbish sitting there..it was there last week anyway, although perhaps it was lifted since.

just noticed today, it was lifted!

even in my old apartment, rubbish would sit for months.

also noticed today, no rubbish, & some men were using power washers to clean the pathway..magic.

1. Letterkenny TC has one of the best leisure, recreational and parks programmes of any local authority in Ireland. The Town Park is the envy of many local authorities, and we're currently designing a 30%+ bigger and better park at Ballymacool, not to mention the new sports centre, skate park, and various areas of green space around the town.
2. If the politicians aren't doing enough for you, then you can get involved. All it takes (for a local election) is either membership of a political party who will back you, or 15 signatures to stand as an independent. For me, the canvas took a minimum of 4 hours a day for 7 weeks.

so, you go to the park for recreation?
what do you do in the park if you're not a 3 year old?
sit on the bench with a 6 pack of dutch gold or bottle of linden village?

there isn't really much to do in that park in fairness, Damien.
and the swimming pool, imagine sitting in there all day? you'd look worse than that david blaine fella
did after he emerged half-dead from his tank of water some months ago.

i would like to see a mountain bike trail setup in the town.

but i'm not into politics, its not for me.

has the TC ever asked people for suggestions????
maybe you could suggest that in future, any money allocated for the leisure, recreational & park programme should encompass the views of local people before any actual decisions are made.

that way then, you would have a better picture of what the youth would like to see.

michelle_ie

i have to agree with the underage drinking its stupid, the gardai are great at going into pubs and stopping if someone is in the yellow box but yet last friday night at ........ there were 14 year olds vomiting out side the 4 lanterns, one was found throwing up on herself ....................deleted...............
its disgraceful, disgusting and i know the authorities dont care, i once reported underage drinking before and i waited to see if the gardai came, half an hour passed and still nothing.
they can give out all they want but the reality is the people in charge dont care, they are great at talking but when it comes to taking action they need a good kick up the backside!


Edited by muffler: I dont think we need to know all the details about lude acts.

muffler

michelle_ie, your posts are most welcome and I fully understand the point you are making and as you will see it can be done without going into too much detail.

Im certainly not a prude but I need to make sure that the contents of all posts here are fit for family viewing

Martyr

michelle_ie, your posts are most welcome and I fully understand the point you are making and as you will see it can be done without going into too much detail.

Im certainly not a prude but I need to make sure that the contents of all posts here are fit for family viewing

this is the problem with most of the local news papers here in donegal too..everything has to be fit for family viewing

"cover their eyes...hide them from the truth!"

as a result, anybody who isn't on the street some saturday night to see the mindless destruction that alcohol does to society, never realises how bad things really are.

i don't wanna sound like XX with an anti-drugs campaign, but alcohol is destroying young people.

i mean, st.patricks day was ...shheesh, it was bad.
got up early mornin after the chaos, (stayed in doors to be safe night before)
went up to clarkes to get a paper..& all i could smell was the sickness, urine & alcohol, dodging the broken bottles & pint glasses.

i suppose thats how to celebrate a patron saints day if your a good christian.:rolleyes:

it was ok later on in the day, because the road sweepers had cleaned up all the evidence & everything seemed normal..

the way i see it, most gardai personnel only join the force because it offers a financially secure career.

every retired cop i've ever talked to said they hated being on the force & why should it be any different for new recruits?

it isn't, most only join for the money.
honestly i sympathise with the genuine recruits, who actually want to help victims of crime.
It is difficult to get a conviction with the amount of loopholes in the law...& the leniency of judges to repeat offenders makes it all seem like alot of hard work in vain.

hate to be cynical, most gardai in the job for the money.
they should bring back the old donegal gardai..atleast the thugs feared them. hehehe

i'd even join the guards for the money, get a good pension.lose credibility though

The bones

and where are the parents when their 14 year old kids are getting drunk and sick?

jimmycrackcorm

muffler wrote:

michelle_ie, your posts are most welcome and I fully understand the point you are making and as you will see it can be done without going into too much detail.

Im certainly not a prude but I need to make sure that the contents of all posts here are fit for family viewing

Perhaps Muffler you'll all be telling us not to watch the soaps either seeing as they're not fit for family viewing!:rolleyes:

jimmycrackcorm

my issues would be with existing & past members of the TC whom you would probably know very well.
don't want to discuss those individuals on here right now incase there is no truth in some or all of the stories i've heard about them.

The grapevine speaketh the truth; Isn't it more likely that many stories are made up maliciously out of begrudgery.

in my opinion, its a waste of money & i believe if you asked ALL people in letterkenny, overall a majority would say the same thing.(actually most people don't know the exact budget of the structure, too worried to tell us?)

I get the impression that prior to the GPO or the custom house being buitl you'd have been first in line complaining about such extravagant buildings being built. I mean who needs a post office like the GPO? Also only the begruders are the ones who see no value in art projects.

i couldn't care less what tourists think of letterkenny, alot of them complain anyway about this or that, so who cares.ok, the town looks nice on the outside..look at the inside, that is more important.didn't your mother ever tell you, its whats on the inside that counts.?

Ever consider that it is not necessarily a tourist object? What about the concept of culture being intrinsic to our heritage?

look at the spire in dublin, EVERYONE i've ever talked to about that said it was a total complete waste of money.
what was it? 3 million euro??
imagine how many hospitals could have benefited from that!!

3 mill punts. But I don't know who you are talking to as in Dublin it is widely regarded as a popular landmark now.

imagine the amount of dublin inner city homeless you could have provided shelter for!!
do these things not matter?

There is plenty of money about to spend on the inner city homeless just not the political will.

has the TC ever asked people for suggestions???? maybe you could suggest that in future, any money allocated for the leisure, recreational & park programme should encompass the views of local people before any actual decisions are made.

But what if they asked for some art projects?

muffler

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

Perhaps Muffler you'll all be telling us not to watch the soaps either seeing as they're not fit for family viewing!:rolleyes:

I assume that you would be mature enough to decide that for yourself

Wishbone Ash

michelle_ie wrote:

i have to agree with the underage drinking its stupid, the gardai are great at going into pubs and stopping if someone is in the yellow box but yet last friday night at ........ there were 14 year olds vomiting out side the 4 lanterns, one was found throwing up on herself ....................deleted...............
its disgraceful, disgusting and i know the authorities dont care, i once reported underage drinking before and i waited to see if the gardai came, half an hour passed and still nothing.
they can give out all they want but the reality is the people in charge dont care, they are great at talking but when it comes to taking action they need a good kick up the backside!


Edited by muffler: I dont think we need to know all the details about lude acts.

Vomiting outside the Four Lanterns?? The food isn't that bad is it? :eek:


Maybe muffler it would be wise to delete the Four Lanterns from her post also!

muffler

Wishbone Ash wrote:

Vomiting outside the Four Lanterns?? The food isn't that bad is it? :eek:


Maybe muffler it would be wise to delete the Four Lanterns from her post also!

The gist of the topic is alcohol related issues and AFAIK they dont serve the stuff in the 4 Lanterns.

I had previously deleted the name of a licensed premises from the post.

Civilian_Target

Average Joe wrote:

look at the spire in dublin, EVERYONE i've ever talked to about that said it was a total complete waste of money.
what was it? 3 million euro??
imagine how many hospitals could have benefited from that!!

Perhaps everyone in Donegal did - I don't think it's a waste of money at all - it's provided an important focal point in our nation's capital, something that will stand the test of time, and I know many people living in Dublin at least, agree with me.

While there's plenty of governance issues I disagree with, and plenty more about the Gardaí in Donegal (they are a law unto themselves), I don't think you can blame the government for *all* your woes!

I didn't actually realise that those wooden things ("Polestar"?) were actually art!

muffler

This thread is getting a bit complex and dealing with 2 completely different issues. What Im going to do is rename this particular thread "underage drinking in Letterkenny"

I am going to open a new thread titled Letterkenny Town Council issues

Now at this point I am asking for your cooperation by posting your comments in the correct thread

Martyr

and where are the parents when their 14 year old kids are getting drunk and sick?

the parents are doin it with them! (some of them anyway)

The grapevine speaketh the truth; Isn't it more likely that many stories are made up maliciously out of begrudgery.

thats why i haven't said anything yet, but i keep an open mind.

I get the impression that prior to the GPO or the custom house being buitl you'd have been first in line complaining about such extravagant buildings being built. I mean who needs a post office like the GPO? Also only the begruders are the ones who see no value in art projects.

i love art, just not all of it.

Ever consider that it is not necessarily a tourist object? What about the concept of culture being intrinsic to our heritage?

its a landmark, supposed to represent the town..yeah, i know.

3 mill punts. But I don't know who you are talking to as in Dublin it is widely regarded as a popular landmark now.

yeah, but you have to admit..it could be 3 million better spent.

There is plenty of money about to spend on the inner city homeless just not the political will.

i know, politicians would rather build landmark spires instead.

But what if they asked for some art projects?

i was thinking along the lines of an activity..ok there is the skate park that will be built some time...but no definite date given.

something that would excite young people the same way ..drugs would seem exciting to a youngster.
i could think of a few things, but then there would be an insurance problem probably.

While there's plenty of governance issues I disagree with, and plenty more about the Gardaí in Donegal (they are a law unto themselves), I don't think you can blame the government for *all* your woes!

if you read the local papers recently, you will see that more gardai call in sick at the weekends now than ever before, because they fear for their safety...

the front page story in 'Derry People Donegal News' is what i was talking about earlier.
the flat mentioned was where i lived until recently.
i was told by a friend, they broke into the flat & used it for drinking.

a local off-duty guard had parked his car in larkins lane, near the flat.
its window was smashed & when the guard tried to arrest the young guy that did it, he was attacked.

then backup came & lifted them..better to read the story in paper.
but, it basically took an assault on a guard before anything was done about the trouble that had been goin on there for months before....

when i called them few times, they never did anything.

If you're not a cop
you're little people!

nanook

muffler, good work on this topic, its hard to keep on top of it.


One point to note is all the complaints on the Guards.

I heard a report on the news that Letterkenny has got a weekend problem with guards ringing in sick for weekend duty.
It seems all the hassle that occurs at the weekends seems to be deemed dangerous.

The question i want to pose is this.

Why is the responsibility of the guards to monitor under age drinking, yes it is breaking the law but the guards have more responsibility to prevent the Muppet who wants your dvd player and laptop from your home. The guards are not a creche service for kids whose parents are unsure as to their kids whereabouts. Too much emphasis is placed on the guards trying to sort this stuff out. If we got more involved in the reporting of the issues as opposed to the reporting the problems.

Example, underage drinking.

If you know where they are getting the drink from, report the premises to the guards, I guarantee if you threaten a publican/off license with the threat of losing the license to serve/dispense alcohol, then it will wake them up. If that fails then take it one step further, prosecute them and take their license off of them.

We have to do our bit as well.

jimmycrackcorm

Maybe the guards ring in sick in the weekends out of fear but isn't it more likely that they might just want the weekend off. I mean are they going tocall in sick every weekend?

I seriously doubt that the guards in Letterkenny face anything nearwhat they face in Dublin. E.g. a guard I know of was called to a robbery in Ballymun and then got a tip off that the culprits were at a certain flat in the Ballymun towers. No sooner had they arrived and got out of the car than a safe came crashing down onto the roof. Now that guy doesn't call in sickfor the weekend!

Its like all those stories about drugs everywhere. If that is the case where are the toilets with ultraviolet lights?

Wishbone Ash

nanook wrote:

I heard a report on the news that Letterkenny has got a weekend problem with guards ringing in sick for weekend duty.

I would find this difficult to believe as their basic pay very modest and they can significantly boost their income with weekend premiums. Obviously, if they go 'sick', they lose the premium.

muffler

Several of the posts in this thread have now gone from discussing underage drinking to discussing the working habits of the Gardai.

If someone wishes to open a thread about the Gardai thats fine but in the meantime try to keep the posts to the topic at hand.

hanno

Having lived in a few other large town/cities, I think the worst underage drinking I've ever seen has been here in Letterkenny.
I grew up in a small town where"there was nothing to do". However (luckily)it was our parents that made us find things to do, work etc.

Therefore it seems logical that we help parents first. Honestly, it is only my opinion but I don't think anything else works. Even if there is a multitude of things to do, places to go, kids want to fit in and start drinking whereever they are whatever they are doing.
How do we help the parents? Perhaps for a start we could make parenting classes compulsary for all new parents, with a refresher class every few years.
I'll never understand why there is huge outrage when it comes to drugs/smoking and yet being a wine conniseur is a wonderful thing. How hypocritical is society. Oh yeah, people will be saying you have to teach you kids how to drink responsibly, how does that work. I'd love to know, as I have a son and I'm worried about how I'm supposed to do that?