Loop Head Peninsula without a garda station

THE closure of Carrigaholt Garda Station has left the peninsula villages of Carrigaholt, Cross and Kilbaha without a permanent garda presence.

This week’s Budget delivered news that 31 garda stations are to be closed throughout the country in 2012, with Carrigaholt the only Clare station closing. In fact, the station has already closed, following the retirement of Charlie Killeen on November 27. He had served as a garda in Carrigaholt for 22 years and for 33 years in total.
“Every day I was working,” he replied, when asked how often the now closed station in Carrigaholt was open.
“Even when I was in Kilrush, anything that went on in Carrigaholt was still my responsibility.
“The other aspect of it was I’d have a lot of people calling to the house and I’d go back down to the station with them, whether I was off or on and sort out whatever problem they’d have. It was easier to do that than tell them ‘I’ll be working next Monday’,” he added.
He said he was saddened to hear the station has closed and feels it could have been kept open for even a few hours per week.
“I’m disappointed to hear it’s closed. There’s no question about that. I had thought that it would be kept open in some form, albeit that it might be only for a couple of hours a week but at least it would be open on a regular basis.
“There’s an old saying that ‘once you’re outside the Pale, you’re forgotten about. The further away from the Pale you are, the more you’re forgotten about’. There was a line in a play one time ‘times will change and we must change with times’. But at the same time I think it’s a pity that it has closed,” he reflected.
Mr Killeen feels older people in the area will be most worried at the closure of the station.
“The older people, in particular, are very upset over the fact that it is closing. Even Fr Culligan rang me the other day to say that money was taken out of the church and that he didn’t know who he was supposed to ring now. Little things like that people will take time to get used to,” he said.
Responsibility for policing west of Kilkee rests with Kilrush Garda Station. Kilkee has two full-time gardaí in the town.
Meanwhile, Clare Garda Chief Superintendent John Kerin has expressed his disappointment that Carrigaholt Garda Station has closed but says it is down to economic reasons.
“I am genuinely sorry to see this station closing but the community will receive a policing service from Kilrush. It is an unfortunate downside to the recession the country is in and An Garda Síochána, like every public sector body, is impacted,” he stated.
The recent retirements of Charlie Killeen (Carrigaholt), Michael Ryan (Labasheeda), John O’Brien (Doonbeg), Brendan Burke (Kildysart) and Mick Kenneally (Kilmihil) comes on top of the retirement of six additional Kilrush area gardaí both this year and in 2010.