MULLINGAR OUT OF CONTROL

Ham Sambo

Whats happening to Mullingar town? A few weeks ago there was a near riot between eastern europeans factions and over the Christmas period a student from Leitrim was kicked to death. Why is there such need for this mindless thuggery?

Motorist

Went into a chipper there a months back, and 2 lads started aggressively pushing me around. They were looking for a reaction for a fight. I had the sense to just walk away but havent ever experienced unprovolked aggression like that in Dublin.

celticcrash

Oh me oh my

Ham Sambo

I'm sure Mullingar is a fine town, it only takes an incident like what happened to that guy from Leitrim who lost his life to grade the town centre as a no-go area. I have many friends from Mullingar who are horrified at the level of recent violence in the town, I think there is a greater need for public CCTV cameras and more Gardai on foot patrol at night time / weekends in the town.

REPTILEDAN88

Whats happening to Mullingar town? A few weeks ago there was a near riot between eastern europeans factions and over the Christmas period a student from Leitrim was kicked to death. Why is there such need for this mindless thuggery?

It's not a nice town to live in thats for sure. I used to enjoy staying down there as I have family there but not really anymore.

Ham Sambo

celticcrash wrote: »

Oh me oh my

Sorry CELTICCRASH but I detect from your comments that you don't agree with my posts??

freeze4real

apparently its going out of control, one of my mate's mates tried to separate a fight on Christmas day and was hit on the head.

He didn't survive it.

The funeral is tomorrow.

Ham Sambo

Was he the guy from Carrick-on-shannon?

GreenWolfe

Ham Sambo wrote: »

Whats happening to Mullingar town? A few weeks ago there was a near riot between eastern europeans factions and over the Christmas period a student from Leitrim was kicked to death. Why is there such need for this mindless thuggery?

The murder was shocking alright, but rioting isn't new to Mullingar. Had the murder not happened I doubt much would have been said of the near-riot.

Motorist wrote: »

Went into a chipper there a months back, and 2 lads started aggressively pushing me around. They were looking for a reaction for a fight. I had the sense to just walk away but havent ever experienced unprovolked aggression like that in Dublin.

I think that depends where you go, I doubt all of Dublin's chippers are intimidation-free places.

Ham Sambo wrote: »

I'm sure Mullingar is a fine town, it only takes an incident like what happened to that guy from Leitrim who lost his life to grade the town centre as a no-go area. I have many friends from Mullingar who are horrified at the level of recent violence in the town, I think there is a greater need for public CCTV cameras and more Gardai on foot patrol at night time / weekends in the town.

A few more patrols definitely wouldn't hurt. That being said, two crimes don't make a crimewave.

Ham Sambo

EarthlyPangaea wrote: »

The murder was shocking alright, but rioting isn't new to Mullingar. Had the murder not happened I doubt much would have been said of the near-riot.



I think that depends where you go, I doubt all of Dublin's chippers are intimidation-free places.



A few more patrols definitely wouldn't hurt. That being said, two crimes don't make a crimewave.

If you are from Mullingar then you will know that an awful lot of 'crimes comitted' don't make the media, For a small town it has a hell of a lot more crime that any other town the same size

GreenWolfe

Ham Sambo wrote: »

If you are from Mullingar then you will know that an awful lot of 'crimes comitted' don't make the media, For a small town it has a hell of a lot more crime that any other town the same size

I live here, I know exactly what you mean. A close relative's boyfriend tried to defend her from a bunch of scumbags throwing debris and other large and pointy objects at her near a shop. The boyfriend has absolutely no idea whether said scumbags will be pressing charges or not, so they're living in a strange kind of limbo. Sickening. All of my siblings have been assaulted here at one stage or another, but it's not the type of stuff that makes headlines.

A lot of crimes committed don't get any kind of reporting beyond a small article in the local paper or as part of a statistic. Not sure how this would differ from other parts of the country tbh. As for unreported crime, I really don't know.

Apart from considerations like unreported crime and stuff, do you have a source for your last point?

REPTILEDAN88

Sure does. My dad, myself and some cousins walked into his his house just 2 min from the town centre and 2 little scumbags were after jumping into his garden trying to break into the back bedroom door and they are lucky because a neighbour alerted us and I was about to put my dog out the back through the kitchen. I would to have loved to of seen their faces with a Bull Terrier going after them.

T Corolla

I too have been the victim of thugs in the last year in Mullingar. I live in an estate not too far from the town center and there has been numerous incident with thugs and the like

mandz

I was told by a guard in town a couple of years ago that Mullingar was something like the second busiest station in the country.

cyclops999

Was there not murders in Athlone,Longford,Tullamore,Kilbeggan,Glasson and other midland towns and villages over the last few years. It's unfair to all law abiding citizens that when the perpetraitors of crime dont recieve the full force of the law, they think well whats the use in reporting it if their walking the streets within weeks after going to jail.

nice_guy80

when was the last time you saw gardai on foot patrol around the town?? they'd rather drive around or complain about the lack of new vehicles for them to drive around in.

judges are too lenient. do judges live in the real world?? some of the sentences passed down for serious incidents are laughable.

the same scumbags have too much time and money on their hands.

ShortskirtCiara

I'm gonna defend Mullingar. It's definitely not as bad as people are saying and definitely not as bad as others town in the country. You can walk down the street with no fear, same at night-time, I even walk home after a night out on my own (I know I shouldn't, just incase, but I'm fine everytime). I do agree however, that there should be more garda on the streets, especially at night-time, the only time I see guards driving around at night, is before nightclubs, and sometimes afterwards, and even at that its only 1 squad car. I know crime has increased in recent years but its not only Mullingar, it's ALL towns. And every town has their 'bad' estates and family fueds. It's nothing to judge Mullingar by. I have lived here years, and have lived in way worse towns.

freeze4real

Ham Sambo wrote: »

Was he the guy from Carrick-on-shannon?

yes thats were his from.

nice_guy80

I will also point out that Mullingar is not as rough as people think. Having lived in Longford and elsewhere, there are far worse towns

sure, there are a few rough areas in the town.
but generally, there is very little trouble up the town. I feel safe walking around at night.

Ham Sambo

ShortskirtCiara wrote: »

I'm gonna defend Mullingar. It's definitely not as bad as people are saying and definitely not as bad as others town in the country. You can walk down the street with no fear, same at night-time, I even walk home after a night out on my own (I know I shouldn't, just incase, but I'm fine everytime). I do agree however, that there should be more garda on the streets, especially at night-time, the only time I see guards driving around at night, is before nightclubs, and sometimes afterwards, and even at that its only 1 squad car. I know crime has increased in recent years but its not only Mullingar, it's ALL towns. And every town has their 'bad' estates and family fueds. It's nothing to judge Mullingar by. I have lived here years, and have lived in way worse towns.

It's is by far the worse town for muggings and attacks, how you can say that it's not as bad as what it is described in here beggers belief, How many more people have to be kicked to death for you to believe that it isnt safe??

ShaunC

Just a minor point to make here. The riot that is been spoken of was between two groups of non-nationals, Which every town in the country has.
The people who caused the death of the visitor to mullingar are not from the town, so that incident could have happened in any town.
BTW. As a frequent visitor to many midlands towns I would prefer Mullingar to Athlone or Longford.
I don't live in any of the above mentioned towns.

nice_guy80

Ham Sambo wrote: »

It's is by far the worse town for muggings and attacks, how you can say that it's not as bad as what it is described in here beggers belief, How many more people have to be kicked to death for you to believe that it isnt safe??

provide examples of these other muggings and attacks?

ShortskirtCiara

Ham Sambo wrote: »

It's is by far the worse town for muggings and attacks, how you can say that it's not as bad as what it is described in here beggers belief, How many more people have to be kicked to death for you to believe that it isnt safe??

Do you even live in Mullingar? If you don't then don't judge our town. If you do, you need to open your eyes and broaden your horizions. Look at nearby towns Longford, Athlone for example, way worse than Mullingar. I lived in sligo during my college years, I wouldnt even trust my dog gone astray never mind myself walking alone even during the day. Muggings are happening in EVERY single town, I don't know why your singling out Mullingar and as mentioned above, the fight that happened before Christmas was between people not from Mullingar. I'd get your facts right before you start jumping to accusations.

martin1

ShortskirtCiara wrote: »

Look at nearby towns Longford, Athlone for example, way worse than Mullingar.

So you have live in Athlone have you ?

Obviously you are an expert on life here.

Can you give some examples to back up this ignorant statement.

Athlone has cleaned up its act since the 80s.
Thanks to a state of the art cctv system and regular Garda patrols on foot and on bicycles, our lovely scenic town is virtually crime free.

charlemont

Ham Sambo wrote: »

If you are from Mullingar then you will know that an awful lot of 'crimes comitted' don't make the media, For a small town it has a hell of a lot more crime that any other town the same size

Clonmel is the very same, Our local journalists are lets say too local to report on things some people in the locality don't want broadcasted across the country..

Ham Sambo

ShortskirtCiara wrote: »

Do you even live in Mullingar? If you don't then don't judge our town. If you do, you need to open your eyes and broaden your horizions. Look at nearby towns Longford, Athlone for example, way worse than Mullingar. I lived in sligo during my college years, I wouldnt even trust my dog gone astray never mind myself walking alone even during the day. Muggings are happening in EVERY single town, I don't know why your singling out Mullingar and as mentioned above, the fight that happened before Christmas was between people not from Mullingar. I'd get your facts right before you start jumping to accusations.

Hi Ciara.
First of all I admire the way you stick up for your home town of Mullingar, However I find it rather sad that you never once condemed the brutal murder of that guy from Carrick-on-shannon that took place in the 'lovely' town of Mullingar. Ciara, one doesent have to live or be from Mullingar to see that it a very dangerous town to be in at night time. Print media, radio and TV have been saying it down through the years. What I find worrying about your last post is you seem to think that because Andrew Dolan was not from Mullingar his attack was justified. I find that very sad indeed. By the way I have a wide circle of friends living in Mullingar.

Ham Sambo

martin1 wrote: »

So you have live in Athlone have you ?

Obviously you are an expert on life here.

Can you give some examples to back up this ignorant statement.

Athlone has cleaned up its act since the 80s.
Thanks to a state of the art cctv system and regular Garda patrols on foot and on bicycles, our lovely scenic town is virtually crime free.

I have to agree with you, Athlone is a fine town and great nite life.

Ham Sambo

nice_guy80 wrote: »

provide examples of these other muggings and attacks?

Pop down to your local newsagent and pick up the local paper, Thats where you will the facts

nice_guy80

Ham Sambo wrote: »

Hi Ciara.
First of all I admire the way you stick up for your home town of Mullingar, However I find it rather sad that you never once condemed the brutal murder of that guy from Carrick-on-shannon that took place in the 'lovely' town of Mullingar. Ciara, one doesent have to live or be from Mullingar to see that it a very dangerous town to be in at night time. Print media, radio and TV have been saying it down through the years. What I find worrying about your last post is you seem to think that because Andrew Dolan was not from Mullingar his attack was justified. I find that very sad indeed. By the way I have a wide circle of friends living in Mullingar.

the people who committed this attack are not even from Mullingar.

despite not being from mullingar, but living there I can tell you it's a lot safer of a town than many other places I have lived.

I read the paper every week.
and you still have not provided other examples of the print, radio and tv saying down through the years that mullingar is a dangerous place.

ShaunC

I think it's time to ignore ham sambo and his flippant comments without the evidence to back up accusations. Every town has its problems. What town gets extra gardai if it is crime free. It sounds obvious the town with the fewer gardai needs less gardai because there is less trouble and crime to prevent.Is Athlone a safe town for women at night? Was the muliple rapist in Athlone ever caught. Let's stop slagging each others towns off and acknowledge each has it's troublemakers and scumbags who we wish would move away and not darken our doorsteps again.

Ham Sambo

Seriously Shaun, I think you might want to review your last post, that statement regarding Garda numbers really sounds a tad silly.

ShortskirtCiara

ShaunC wrote: »

I think it's time to ignore ham sambo and his flippant comments without the evidence to back up accusations. Every town has its problems. What town gets extra gardai if it is crime free. It sounds obvious the town with the fewer gardai needs less gardai because there is less trouble and crime to prevent.Is Athlone a safe town for women at night? Was the muliple rapist in Athlone ever caught. Let's stop slagging each others towns off and acknowledge each has it's troublemakers and scumbags who we wish would move away and not darken our doorsteps again.

Very well said. End of conversation I reckon.

Ham Sambo

ShortskirtCiara wrote: »

Very well said. End of conversation I reckon.

I would like to point out one thing here before I go any further, I am not anti-Mullingar, I hold nothing personal against Mullingar, in fact I have many many close friends in Mullingar and through Westmeath.

However. I still hold the opinion that Mullingar is not a safe place to go after dark. Many people have been seriously assaulted and sadly one guy from Leitrim was brutally murdered before Christmas in the town, I still have not seen anybody from Mullingar condem the murder of Andrew Dolan. You are not really helping yourselves in selling Mullingar as a safe place to go after dark.

An Ri rua

Ham Sambo wrote: »

Hi Ciara.
First of all I admire the way you stick up for your home town of Mullingar, However I find it rather sad that you never once condemed the brutal murder of that guy from Carrick-on-shannon that took place in the 'lovely' town of Mullingar. Ciara, one doesent have to live or be from Mullingar to see that it a very dangerous town to be in at night time. Print media, radio and TV have been saying it down through the years. What I find worrying about your last post is you seem to think that because Andrew Dolan was not from Mullingar his attack was justified. I find that very sad indeed. By the way I have a wide circle of friends living in Mullingar.

I'm from Tullamore. I know Athlone, Mullingar, and Portlaoise socially and workwise for almost 20 years. All of them make me nervous. Tullamore does not. Yes, I know it, I'm from there. And yes, I can handle myself and have decked a few scumbags in my time (latest, 2010) but ask any garda, there are NO muggings in Tullamore Ciara. Its a town where the Gardai don't take crap.. Very few boyracers either you will note. The troublesome ones I mean. People have been coming to Tullamore for years from Mgar because its so divey at times. Plenty of good pubs too of course. But I wouldn't walk the streets drunk. Nor would I in Birr, Newbridge or Clonmel. Ask anyone!

But my primary reason for posting in this thread is Ham Sambos' disgusting joining of dots re ShortSkirtCiara and implying she thinks this dead young man's killing was justified. Shame on you for 1. screwball thinking (how did you join those dots??) 2. Over-casual use of thls young man's name so that ine future times, his name will come up in search engines along with all of this bile.

His killing was senseless. It happened on the streets of Mullingar. The townfolk as a whole are responsible for their community and how it is operating and being perceived. The Gardaí need to step up to the plate and start using their brains, their batons and the ERU if needed. Otherwise, vigilantes will step up. You better believe it.

nyan warrior

Im goin to Mullingar it sounds like castletown from hardy bucks

amacachi

Ham Sambo wrote: »

For a small town it has a hell of a lot more crime that any other town the same size

That's because you're comparing it to what you hear in the media :pac: Try Dundalk on for size.

nyan warrior

Is there much drugs in the town?

An Ri rua

Ham Sambo wrote: »

Hi Ciara.
First of all I admire the way you stick up for your home town of Mullingar, However I find it rather sad that you never once condemed the brutal murder of that guy from Carrick-on-shannon that took place in the 'lovely' town of Mullingar. Ciara, one doesent have to live or be from Mullingar to see that it a very dangerous town to be in at night time. Print media, radio and TV have been saying it down through the years. What I find worrying about your last post is you seem to think that because Andrew Dolan was not from Mullingar his attack was justified. I find that very sad indeed. By the way I have a wide circle of friends living in Mullingar.

POST REPORTED. NO way @shortSkirtCiara was saying or implying that and your actions are scurrilous and disrespectful to the family of AD

Ham Sambo

An Ri rua wrote: »

POST REPORTED. NO way @shortSkirtCiara was saying or implying that and your actions are scurrilous and disrespectful to the family of AD

If you read back through the other posts you will see I was justified in what I stated in my posts. I also think it is very wrong of you to imply that I was in anyway disrespectful to the Dolan family, I am now asking you retract the statement you made. I have known this family for a long number of years and have nothing but the highest of regard fior them.

An Ri rua

Ham Sambo wrote: »

If you read back through the other posts you will see I was justified in what I stated in my posts. I also think it is very wrong of you to imply that I was in anyway disrespectful to the Dolan family, I am now asking you retract the statement you made. I have known this family for a long number of years and have nothing but the highest of regard fior them.

Excellent, then I think you'll agree that this thread should be handled more delicately than you have been doing. I will not retract my statement; I have clearly believed that your posts thus far were OTT; and the one I pointed to in particular needed reporting. It is for moderators to decide whether that was founded or unfounded. Retract my statement? Never. You also should use the Boards facilities if you feel aggrieved. I'm not the only Boardsie who found your posts OTT and jumping to crazy conclusions. No one except an evil sub-human could have anything but sorrow for the poor guy AND his poor family. I am saying your acidic posts and ample mentioning of his name does none of them any favours.

ipitydafool

Firstly very sad and tragic what happened to Andrew Dolan, hopefully the scumbags involved in his killing are all brought to justice. As someone who has been living in Mullingar for nearly 6 years now Id also like say I find it a very safe town to live in, certainly safer than my hometown of cavan. Some of the comments regarding Mullingar from people who are arent even living here are defo ott.

muckety

I'm going to stand up for ham sambo as imo the post that suggested that the fact that the vicious thugs that carried out the thugs were not from the town is somehow significant is offensive as it detracts from the horror of that particular attack. Its not as if they came from far away (allegedly) or as if that should make a difference. Its an emotive discussion as it was a particularly nasty unprovoked attack.

ShortskirtCiara

Im no longer posting in this thread and to be honest moderators, I think it should be closed/locked.

Ham Sambo

An Ri rua wrote: »

Excellent, then I think you'll agree that this thread should be handled more delicately than you have been doing. I will not retract my statement; I have clearly believed that your posts thus far were OTT; and the one I pointed to in particular needed reporting. It is for moderators to decide whether that was founded or unfounded. Retract my statement? Never. You also should use the Boards facilities if you feel aggrieved. I'm not the only Boardsie who found your posts OTT and jumping to crazy conclusions. No one except an evil sub-human could have anything but sorrow for the poor guy AND his poor family. I am saying your acidic posts and ample mentioning of his name does none of them any favours.

The 'poor guy' you mentioned was called Andrew Dolan, referring to him as 'AD' or the 'poor guy' in my opinion is not showing respect, however I will commend you for at least condemming the brutal attack that took place, But I would have thought some of the other posters from Mullingar would have also condemed his murder. I think it's is now time to put this post to bed as we all could be going around in circles regarding Mullingar. I have made my point, time to move on

wetminger

Wow some of the opinions on here are sensationalist to say the least. Obviously one murder is too many, however it doesn't make the town a no-go area. Who knows what circumstances surrounded the killing, as long as you are streetwise then Mullingar is like anywhere else. I have never felt anything but safe there.

Unfortunately large towns across the world will suffer from isolated incidents of serious crime like rape, murder etc... which will just happen no matter how many police walk down the street. That's just life unfortunately we are not exempt from it.

Mullingar was nothing but a sleepy small town when I was growing up there in the pre-boom years up to the mid 1990s. During the frantic 'Celtic Tiger' building boom the town witnessed a massive influx of lower paid workers escaping crazy house prices from the capital as well as foreigners moving to Ireland for a better life. Over the past 15-20 years therefore the demographic of Mullingar has changed considerably, with some of the new arrivals not as 'rural' in their approach as people once were.

The problem for Mullingar is that twice in recent years, small isolated groups of feral idiots have dragged the towns name through the headlines for fighting - namely settled travellers and an eastern-European gang. They could number no more than 40 to 50 people in a town of 20,000. This added to normal levels of crime for a town of this size make it seem like Mullingar suffers from more than its fair share of crime compared to similar Irish towns.

Personally I have had hundreds of nights out there and never experienced a single problem. My whole family lives there and socialize regularly without issue. If you are streetwise and not living in a rough area, Mullingar is as good if not better than most midland towns and certainly no less safe.

GKidd

ipitydafool wrote: »

Firstly very sad and tragic what happened to Andrew Dolan, hopefully the scumbags involved in his killing are all brought to justice. As someone who has been living in Mullingar for nearly 6 years now Id also like say I find it a very safe town to live in, certainly safer than my hometown of cavan. Some of the comments regarding Mullingar from people who are arent even living here are defo ott.

I am an Ex- Pat Mullingar native who was briefy home at Christmas to visit family. I was disgusted by the way in which the town was being portrayed by the media.

I decided to head into town for a few pints one night and was even more disgusted to find that the town had turned into a warzone.

* In one pub there were teens dancing on the tables in the beergarden and openly "dropping bangers".

* Another guy in the next pub called me a scaldy hoor.

* When I was heading into Mojos at 11pm there was a young girl being carried out by the bouncers. Her eyes were rolling and she didn't look at all well.

* While waiting on a taxi two scumbags asked to buy my chips for €25.
When I declined they knocked the bag from my hand onto the footpath and ran off laughing. When I got home I realised that they had fractured two of my onion rings in the unprovoked attack. :mad:

wetminger

@GKidd, dare I suggest the problem you are having may be with the places you frequent (i.e Mojos) rather than the entire town of Mullingar being a 'warzone'. I mean kids dancing on tables? Whatever next...

Mr. Presentable

ShortskirtCiara wrote: »

I'm gonna defend Mullingar.. And every town has their 'bad' estates and family fueds. It's nothing to judge Mullingar by. I have lived here years, and have lived in way worse towns.

Was it Mullingar in 2008 that had weeks of street battles between rival "families"? I'd be curious to know what worse towns you lived in. I live in Tallaght, which would be regarded by most as one of Ireland's rougher places and never heard of pitched battles, between travellers, or "Eastern Europeans", or scobes for that matter.

Mr. Presentable

wetminger wrote: »

@GKidd, dare I suggest the problem you are having may be with the places you frequent (i.e Mojos) rather than the entire town of Mullingar being a 'warzone'. I mean kids dancing on tables? Whatever next...

>>Whoooosh>>

wetminger

@Mr.Presentable : less than 12 months ago there was a 'riot' at Smithfield market in central Dublin following a shooting in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon - this happened in a tourist spot only a few blocks from O'Connell street opposite hotels, bus stops, a luas station etc... Type 'Shooting in Smithfield' into youtube for some evidence.
Based on the logic used by some posters on this thread therefore, central Dublin should be avoided on Sunday afternoons as it is so dangerous. My point is that one negative incident in a small part of an area should not be the defining factor for an entire town/city. The 'riot' in Mullingar occurred in a small pocket of a notoriously rough estate over a mile from the town centre. Doesn't branding the entire town as dangerous therefore, seem slightly exaggerated to you and unfair on the 99.99% of inhabitants who were not involved?

wetminger

Mr. Presentable wrote: »

Was it Mullingar in 2008 that had weeks of street battles between rival "families"? I'd be curious to know what worse towns you lived in. I live in Tallaght, which would be regarded by most as one of Ireland's rougher places and never heard of pitched battles, between travellers, or "Eastern Europeans", or scobes for that matter.

The answer to this question is plainly 'No'.

It was however Mullingar in 2008 that had an afternoon of street battles between rival traveller families. It started just before noon and the Gardai had it under control later that afternoon.

How has an incident which lasted a few hours been morphed into "weeks of street battles" in the minds of people? Please use google to substantiate 'facts' before posting. Perhaps if more people using this thread did then their opinions about Mullingar not be so sensationalist and clearly wrong.