2011: Irish people and helping people in distress

Dionysus

WELL. This afternoon I decided to get my camera and go searching for historical sites I had read about in history books throughout the years.

Anyway, at about 3.30pm I ended up in a place named Ballyboggan on the Meath-Offaly border as it has the ruins of a late medieval Augustinian priory and formerly was a major site for Irish pilgrimages (until it was destroyed by iconoclasts in the 1530s).

I got out of the car with my camera and noticed a 'people carrier' across the road at the entrance to the priory. The people looked very upset and I could see their driver-side window was smashed in. It quickly transpired that they had American accents and had all their possessions robbed in the previous hour. Passports, tickets, money, cameras - everything. There were six people. They had just arrived in our country and were on the way to Athlone. They came across this site and went in to see it, locking their van before they left. The place is in the middle of nowhere. I would never expect anybody to go out there to rob them.

At any rate, they rang 911 and waited anxiously for the Garda to arrive. I asked them could I do anything and they told me they only had one phone as the others were stolen and they had to keep that free for the Hertz window repair guy (who seemed like a right unhelpful prick, also - he said he didn't know the place but could fix it for them when they got back to Dublin) to return their call. The principal woman was really angry that nobody stopped to ask if they were OK. I was getting more and more embarrassed as I heard what was going on. I got my phone out and googled the local garda station's number, they said they'd be out. 45 minutes more passed and they still hadn't appeared. The Americans rang the US Embassy and the Marine Officer there told them not to expect the Garda out because they don't appear. I was fúcking livid when the American man reported this back to me. I was going to show him the US Embassy guy was wrong. I rang the Garda station in Enfield twice more, and nobody answered the phone. I rang 911, spoke with the Garda headquarters for Meath in Navan and explained to the officer what was going on. She was very nice, but I really had to emphasise that there were six tourists next to me waiting for almost two hours for a garda to appear and this wait was adding hugely to their already awful experience in our country. Not only had they been robbed blind within three hours of arriving in our country, but the state, along with the numerous Irish people who passed them, was ignoring them.

Over two hours since this crime was reported two members of An Garda Síochána finally arrived on the scene to deal with six tourists who were in our country and going to undoubtedly spend a decent amount of money. I asked one of them, as nicely as I could: "What kept you?" He said: "We didn't know where the place was". I said "Do you not have gps on your phone?" The garda said that, and I kid you not, since the cutbacks they have been denied gps. "It's very useful", I said politely and quickly bade my goodbyes.

1. There's six people who will not be returning to our country anytime soon.

2. There's six people who have numerous friends and family to recount their story about not only An Garda Síochána but about the ordinary Irish people who passed them by as all six of them stood on the side of a road in rural Ireland clearly in distress and with the window of their people carrier smashed in.

3. My home was robbed last month so apologies if I feel the pain of these tourists too much. Stopping to see if you could help somebody in distress is the sort of basic help all of us should be willing to give to people. You're not being "conned" if you do this, if you show kindness and empathy. Aside from basic human decency, even if you're a cynical mé féiner moron, if you had two brain cells to rub together you'd know it makes economic sense to help six tourists to our country. Economically, you personally will benefit from more tourists and the money they bring to Ireland.

/end rant.

Oranage2

Ringing 911 no wonder nobody showed - 999 or 112

I would ride myself cos im a sexy man

pics or gtfo

stupidusername

No

I think I read somewhere that 911 works too. Anyway op plenty of **** happens the people living here,i would consider that more important. Stuff has happened me in other countries,wouldn't stop me going back.

byhookorbycrook

No

Gardaí are slow to attend unless there is an injury. Fair play to you for helping out.

When we are in Dingle, I usually stumble on car loads of tourists puzzled by the sign posts,it's a good feeling to help them out and to tell them of other sites in the area. A small thing, but one they might remember in a good light.

southsiderosie

No

I'm an American, and when I was in Ireland I found people to be quite helpful and friendly if I ever looked obviously lost or confused. So I don't think you can generalize based on this one incident.

I also don't understand why they would expect help to magically appear quite quickly in a rural area, nor why they think the police would show up right away; a car getting broken into isn't an urgent crime.

Finally, it was incredibly stupid of these people to leave their valuables in the car, especially their phones and passports.

The Scientician

No

Ah some people don't wanna get involved in other people's problems. Sometimes with good reason. If I see an obvious tourist who needs help I'll usually offer it, but then you don't know but you could frighten them. I'd guess most Irish people would stop and help a tourist. I have American friends who said that Irish people were the most helpful they met in Europe with regard to directions, recommendations etc. In other countries they tended to get short shrift, probably partially because of the language barrier.

Me and a mate stopped a guy mugging this Spanish girl one time on North Frederick St. but that could have ended badly had the f--ker turned on us. He just legged it.

Another time, my brother, a few friends, and myself, helped a guy who was having an epileptic fit on a pavement in the city centre. His mates emerged from a nearby pub and started raring on us, even though we possibly saved the guy's life.

mikemac

No

You made the poll public

Well of course nobody is going to vote no so they don't look a right ****

You're going to end up with every vote for yes

The Scientician

No

Dionysus wrote: »

The place is in the middle of nowhere. I would never expect anybody to go out there to rob them.

On this point, I've been to various not so popular tourist sites around the country and several of them have had prominent, Beware of Thieves signs up. It's a common enough problem in isolated areas. People familiar with an area can probably guess how long visitors are going to be away from the car parks.

themadchef

Visiting some historical site and all their money with them? Did they put a big neon "please steal from us" sign on the car?

Tell me, if you were going to the States with your family \ mates and were on the way to your hotel from the airport, even if it were to stop to get food... would you leave all your money in the car? Would you bring it all in cash?

Two hours for the guards to call to a robbery is not huge. It took 40 min for a fecking ambulance to get to a serious accident ten minutes away from a hospital recently.

Im sorry there are scum bags in this country, but there are scum bags in every country. The guards are public servants, and there are other things that take priority.

They had a shítty day, shítty first day of your holiday experience and i feel sorry for them, but what could the average joe do if they stopped? Bring them home for the táe??

Knowing the guards couldint make it for two hours, and lets say every single car coulda stopped. What would you have them do?

Dionysus

No

Oranage2 wrote: »

Ringing 911 no wonder nobody showed - 999 or 112

Don't be an obnoxious idiotic prick, Oranage2: if you ring 911 it's the same as ringing 999. Next time, stay in touch with government advertisements to this effect.

southsiderosie

No

Dionysus wrote: »

Don't be an obnoxious idiotic prick, Oranage2: if you ring 911 it's the same as ringing 999. Next time, stay in touch with government advertisements to this effect.

Why all the hostility?

Oh, and I have to wonder: did the government make that possible because of all the silly Americans dialing 911 and wondering why nothing was happening?

Dionysus

No

southsiderosie wrote: »

I'm an American, and when I was in Ireland I found people to be quite helpful and friendly if I ever looked obviously lost or confused. So I don't think you can generalize based on this one incident.

I also don't understand why they would expect help to magically appear quite quickly in a rural area, nor why they think the police would show up right away; a car getting broken into isn't an urgent crime.

Finally, it was incredibly stupid of these people to leave their valuables in the car, especially their phones and passports.

In fairness to them, this place is no Monasterboice or Mellifont (where signs abound warning people not to leave valuables); there was no warning signs at all, and they did lock their van. It's on a regional road with parking for, perhaps, two cars. Judging by the absence of the OPW sign on the priory it doesn't even appear to be a National Monument.

southsiderosie wrote: »

Why all the hostility?

Alternatively, you could have asked: why the stupid patronising response in the first place? You didn't.

ScumLord

Dionysus wrote: »

I asked one of them, as nicely as I could: "What kept you?" He said: "We didn't know where the place was". I said "Do you not have gps on your phone?" The garda said that, and I kid you not, since the cutbacks they have been denied gps. "It's very useful", I said politely and quickly bade my goodbyes.

Oh my God, some of them probably didn't have iPhones :rolleyes: and sure what good are they if they don't have state sponsored data plans. :mad:

southsiderosie

No

Dionysus wrote: »

In fairness to them, this place is no Monasterboice or Mellifont (where signs abound warning people not to leave valuables); there was no warning signs at all, and they did lock their van. It's on a regional road with parking for, perhaps, two cars. Judging by the absence of the OPW sign on the priory it doesn't even appear to be a National Monument.

No, sorry, there is no "in fairness to them" here. When you are abroad, the most valuable thing you have is your passport. I would never leave my passport, phone, or wallet in the car ANYWHERE, much less in a foreign country. In addition, you never EVER leave all of your valuables together in the same place. This was just plain dumb.

Dionysus wrote: »

Alternatively, you could have asked: why the stupid patronising response in the first place? You didn't.

Because leaving all of your valuables in the car, calling 911 (instead of the local emergency number) and then raging when the police don't drop everything they are doing to help you just sounds like the ultimate stereotype of the obnoxious American tourist - and I say that as an American. So given your description of what happened, I don't think that a somewhat patronizing response was unwarranted - especially since this is AH. :pac:

Oranage2

Dionysus wrote: »

Alternatively, you could have asked: why the stupid patronising response in the first place? You didn't.

What do you want irish people to do?

If you got robbed in the states do you think the Police are gonna show up with CSI's best crack team, sniffer dogs, an irish ambassador and overhead chopper?

No, it's very unfortunate thats theres scumbags here but there are scumbags everywhere - And if anything, Ireland has showed these tourists how to look after their most important belongings!

imitation

Dionysus wrote: »

Alternatively, you could have asked: why the stupid patronising response in the first place? You didn't.

Its after hours, its all about one liners and smart comments. You may as well go into the disco and ask why are they playing all the loud music.

Dionysus

No

southsiderosie wrote: »

calling 911 (instead of the local emergency number) and then raging when the police don't drop everything they are doing to help you just sounds like the ultimate stereotype of the obnoxious American tourist - and I say that as an American.

911 is a "local emergency number", as is 112 and 999: all three numbers get you to the same place. This has already been stated. This was well advertised by the Irish government in the past few years. Assuming somebody is stupid for ringing it and deriding him in a post is ironic given this reality. If you're going to argue, at least have your facts correct.

CK2010

when myself and the boyfriend were climbing the sugarloaf a while back some woman, a local, climbed up as quick as she could to tell us there was a bunch of people trying to break into our car, she had the reg of the van the people were in and she gave us her phone number in case we needed to contact her. thankfully the car was still as we left it. not all irish people just walk on.

Dionysus

No

ScumLord wrote: »

Oh my God, some of them probably didn't have iPhones :rolleyes: and sure what good are they if they don't have state sponsored data plans. :mad:

:rolleyes: More of this supercilious ráiméis. I don't have an iphone but I managed to get a phone for €89 which had gps on it. Considering they are gardaí, it might be handy for them - you know, to get to a place quickly.

mikemac

No

Dionysus wrote: »

the ordinary Irish people who passed them by as all six of them stood on the side of a road in rural Ireland clearly in distress and with the window of their people carrier smashed in.

Did the group try to flag anyone down?

If someone is driving along a road like this and gets flagged down then of course the driver will stop, it was 3:30pm so bright.

You met them because you were stopping there anyway.
But the tourists stand at the side of road, well they have to get drivers attention if they want help, people aren't mind readers and they mighn't spot the broken window at 40km per hour or whatever speed they are doing

If I was driving by unless they signal me, I'll stay driving

Dionysus

No

feelingstressed wrote: »

Did the group try to flag anyone down?

If someone is driving along a road like this and gets flagged down then of course the driver will stop, it was 3:30pm so bright.

You met them because you were stopping there anyway.
But the tourists stand at the side of road, well they have to get drivers attention if they want help, people aren't mind readers and they mighn't spot the broken window at 40km per hour or whatever speed they are doing

If I was driving by unless they signal me, I'll stay driving

Fair point: I would have flagged somebody down as well. However, with her smashed driver-seat window and the six of them standing around the van (two crying) she seemed to expect that people would automatically stop. I did suggest to her that people wouldn't expect robberies in this part of the country and that might explain why they didn't stop, and she felt somewhat better.

celj

Was robbed in Spain.
Spanish police not great.
Will go back to Spain at some stage.
End of story.

Aishae

think youve hit the nail on the head about the people passing by - they wont stop unless you wave them down - it wouldnt be very obvious that they had car trouble anyway but they were at a spot where you typically park too (for the historical site)

as for the guards - their response time usually is something like a few hours unless someone was hurt or eg. it was a big accident on a motorway (obstructions) - they do get plenty of call outs - im not saying the response time is good, just understandable if theyre busy.

GPS phones - it could be that they arent supplied with mobiles by their bosses and perhaps they had older model phones that had no gps. i dont know - we can only speculate on that one. but if they have trouble finding somewhere dont they ring dispatch? it can be hard to relay directions over the phone in places so rural where some roads arent even on a map i guess.

ive travelled and toured on a bus for a few weeks. stayed in hostels. always kept my passport and phone on me when i went hillwalking etc. then slept with passport, phone and money under my nightshirt - no safety deposit boxes there. i didnt have all the money with me though - i kept some safe with a friend. its just common sense to take extra extra care with this stuff cos you never know when opportunists will be about.
i doubt they do this in america - maybe they somehow felt ireland would be safer as many an american has an old fashioned country bumpkin type ideas about ireland. it was stupid - but i hope they got it sorted.

kowloon

In fairness, the Gardai should have up to date GPS in every car as standard. Worthy of some separate funding I would think.

Xplor.er

i know from a few experiences to stay the f**k away! iv helped people on a few occasions and all i got in return was the gardai constantly ringing me asking for information that i hadnt got, and organising interviews/statements.
im someones life was in danger i would defently help, but other than that i try and leave it to the authorities

southsiderosie

No

Dionysus wrote: »

911 is a "local emergency number", as is 112 and 999: all three numbers get you to the same place. This has already been stated. This was well advertised by the Irish government in the past few years. Assuming somebody is stupid for ringing it and deriding him in a post is ironic given this reality. If you're going to argue, at least have your facts correct.

Why would Americans know this given that the IRISH government was advertising it? It's not advertised in the US.

Coriolanus

They can't follow the advice from their own fúcking State Dept? **** em.

CRIME: Ireland has a low rate of violent crime. There have been a limited number of assaults on foreigners and tourists, including violence toward members of racial minority groups. There have also been several reported assaults in Dublin by small, unorganized gangs roaming the streets in the early morning hours after the pubs close. There has been a high incidence of petty crime in major tourist areas—mostly theft, burglary, and purse-snatching. Thieves target rental cars and tourists, particularly in the vicinity of tourist attractions. In some cases, purse and bag-snatching have involved physical assault or violence, especially in Dublin. Take extra caution to guard your passports and wallets. We recommend you travel with a copy of the biographic data page of your passport in a secure location separate from your purse or luggage in case something happens.

southsiderosie

No

Originally Posted by Dionysus
911 is a "local emergency number", as is 112 and 999: all three numbers get you to the same place. This has already been stated. This was well advertised by the Irish government in the past few years. Assuming somebody is stupid for ringing it and deriding him in a post is ironic given this reality. If you're going to argue, at least have your facts correct.

Nevore wrote: »

They can't follow the advice from their own fúcking State Dept? **** em.

The State Department also tells us that:

The local equivalent to the “911” emergency line in Ireland are 999 and 112.

So, yes, for am American to call 911 in Ireland is stupid. Luckily the Irish government recognizes that.

AccuTip

Dionysus wrote: »

At any rate, they rang 911 and waited anxiously for the Garda to arrive. I asked them could I do anything and they told me they only had one phone as the others were stolen and they had to keep that free for the Hertz window repair guy (who seemed like a right unhelpful prick, also - he said he didn't know the place but could fix it for them when they got back to Dublin) to return their call. The principal woman was really angry that nobody stopped to ask if they were OK. I was getting more and more embarrassed as I heard what was going on. I got my phone out and googled the local garda station's number, they said they'd be out. 45 minutes more passed and they still hadn't appeared. The Americans rang the US Embassy and the Marine Officer there told them not to expect the Garda out because they don't appear. I was fúcking livid when the American man reported this back to me. I was going to show him the US Embassy guy was wrong. I rang the Garda station in Enfield twice more, and nobody answered the phone. I rang 911, spoke with the Garda headquarters for Meath in Navan and explained to the officer what was going on. She was very nice, but I really had to emphasise that there were six tourists next to me waiting for almost two hours for a garda to appear and this wait was adding hugely to their already awful experience in our country. Not only had they been robbed blind within three hours of arriving in our country, but the state, along with the numerous Irish people who passed them, was ignoring them.

Over two hours since this crime was reported two members of An Garda Síochána finally arrived on the scene to deal with six tourists who were in our country and going to undoubtedly spend a decent amount of money. I asked one of them, as nicely as I could: "What kept you?" He said: "We didn't know where the place was". I said "Do you not have gps on your phone?" The garda said that, and I kid you not, since the cutbacks they have been denied gps. "It's very useful", I said politely and quickly bade my goodbyes.

is the sort of basic help all of us should be willing to give to people. You're not being "conned" if you do this, if you show kindness and empathy. Aside from basic human decency, even if you're a cynical mé féiner moron, if you had two brain cells to rub together you'd know it makes economic sense to help six tourists to our country. Economically, you personally will benefit from more tourists and the money they bring to Ireland.

QUOTE]

iv had my house broken into twice and property was stolen. the gardai didnt come out to us the night i rang them. there is not much they could have done anyway! i think ringin the embassy/marine officer was bit overboard. People are robbed all the time!
we live in some relativly rural parts of the country, these can de hard to find.
as to the gps thats for the guards themselfs to request more finance for them.

Coriolanus

southsiderosie wrote: »

The State Department also tells us that:



So, yes, for am American to call 911 in Ireland is stupid. Luckily the Irish government recognizes that.

Why is it stupid? 911 redirects to the emergency services.