Feuding Traveller factions causing ‘mayhem’

THE chairperson of Ennis Town’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) has spoken out about the “mayhem taking place in our town” over the past two years as a result of feuding factions within the Travelling community and has said he is anxious to find a resolution.

 

Speaking after last Friday’s meeting of Ennis Town’s JPC, which was attended by a representative of Pavee Point Traveller Centre, re-elected chairperson of the committee, Councillor Paul O’Shea said that while he sympathised with the Travelling community he felt there was “an ever present threat of violence” in the town.

“From the settled community’s perspective we have had two attacks on our schools in two years, we have had children receiving psychological counselling in addition to the services of a psychological play therapist and pensioners are now afraid to go to their general post office to draw their old age pension in case they would get caught up in the mayhem taking place in our town.

“The bottom line is that there is a feeling of an ever present threat of ongoing feuding and violence and you just don’t know when the next outbreak will be or where it will be. We really need to find a lasting solution to this,” he said.

Martin Collins, co-director of Pavee Point, who addressed the JPC committee said, “The truth is this is Traveller-on-Traveller violence, it impacts on Travellers, Traveller men, Traveller women, young Travellers, all Travellers and I get very tired and sick of this view that it should only become a concern for members of the settled community when it impacts on them – it should be a concern for everybody full stop.”

“We all should be concerned because violence is wrong full stop, whether it’s violence among Travellers themselves, among the settled community, or between Travellers and the settled community; it’s uncivilised, it’s unacceptable and people need to cop on.”

Mr Collins outlined to the JPC that mediation may be of assistance to the town council as a means of addressing the issue.

“I did emphasise that two approaches are needed. One is law enforcement. Quite clearly if there is violence taking place on the streets of Ennis, or in the wider county of Clare, people in breach of the Public Order Act need to be held to account. They need to be properly investigated by the gardaí and I would hope that Travellers would work with the gardaí to bring those responsible for intimidation and criminal activity to account.

“Law enforcement requires a bit of trust and relationship-building between Travellers and the gardaí and I suspect in County Clare that the relationship between the Travellers and the gardaí is at an all-time low, as it is elsewhere in the country. It is not unique in that way and that has to be addressed,” Mr Collins told The Clare Champion.

He added that, in the past, mediation and conflict resolution has proven to be “an essential tool”, and stressed the need to tackle the underlying causes and not just the symptoms.

“You need to have people get together and talk about the issues and reach some agreement so they can move on with their lives,” he said.

A mediation process was engaged in the county previously but had not been a success.

Addressing the notion of a trade off where one side might only consider engaging with a mediator if charges were dropped, Mr Collins said, “I think that is very dangerous.We have laws and legislation that are there for a reason – to have a civilised stable society. If they are in breach of those laws they need to be held to account. No one can behave badly with impunity.

“At the same time people need to be looking at other ways to resolve their differences and their disagreements other than in the courts or through violence, or aggression. I’m not comfortable of this notion of a pay off, this idea that I will come to the table only if charges are dropped.

“I’m not suggesting that mediation is going to work in all situations but it is an effective tool and it has worked. It doesn’t always work, but just because it failed at a particular moment in time should not mean we don’t try it again. I think in the context of traveller feuding just because it hasn’t worked it should not mean we give up on it,” he said.

Mr Collins did suggest mediators to the JPC members but it was indicated that funding could be a problem.

Councillor O’Shea said the possibility of mediation Is something that would have to be taken up at town council level. “It will be looked into but it is highly unlikely that funding will be available,” he said.
Councillor O’Shea and Mr Collins agreed that, should mediation take place, it is down to those involved to “come to the peace table” and cooperate.

Speaking from a policing perspective, Superintendent Peter Duff, who also attended the JPC meeting, said gardaí offer a policing service to everyone and that if there were issues within the Travelling community they should come to the gardaн to report such issues and that they would be treated in confidence.

He added that feuding is not an issue solely within the Travelling committee and neither are they above the law. He asked the public to be cognisant of that.

“This issue is not unique to Travellers, it might be more to the fore at the moment, but it is not unique. We do have feuding families outside of the Traveller community. We have a very diverse community in Ennis and in the county and we all have to obey the laws of the land and we are here to enforce the laws and apply equally,” Superintendent Duff emphasised.

“There is a public perception out there that Travellers are outside the law, but we have successfully prosecuted Travellers and with the assistance of Travellers. It wouldn’t be fair to say that they refuse to co-operate,” he added.

Giving an example he said last weekend in Ennis “12 people were arrested for breaches of the Public Order Act and not one was a Traveller”.