Shock awaits tipplers who urinate in Ennis lane

A NASTY electric shock awaits Ennis pub goers who decide to urinate on the doorway of a well-known music shop, a local businessman has warned.
Fed up of removing foul-smelling urine, faeces and vomit outside Custy’s Traditional Music Shop in Cooke’s Lane every Monday morning for over three and a half years, proprietor John O’Connor insists that he is left with no option but to take radical action to safeguard his business.
Mr O’Connor has installed a device that transmits a painful electric shock for men and women who decide to relieve themselves in the recessed entrance to his premises behind a posted sign on the wall stating, “electric current in operation, urinate at your own peril”.
After building up a large number of local, national and international customers over the last 17 years, including his three-and-a-half year stint in Cooke’s Lane, Mr O’Connor is determined to protect his business in the middle of an economic downturn.
The proprietor has also vowed to place a photograph of anyone engaging in anti-social behaviour outside his premises on a billboard, which will be situated in a prominent position in nearby O’Connell Street to inform the general public what is happening.
He said that he will also send photographs taken from new closed circuit television cameras to the local gardaí, which can be considered as evidence in any subsequent court prosecution.
Having confronted a few perpetrators in the past, he stressed that he would vigorously pursue anyone who engaged in this shameful activity in the future.
He admitted that sensor security 500 watt lighting and older cameras hadn’t proven to be enough of a deterrent because the transgressors felt they would get away without punishment.
“I have had enough and I am not going to tolerate this type of behaviour any longer. This is a societal issue because the majority of these are average working people who feel they have the right to urinate outside private property.”
He claimed it happened when people who go outside  pubs to smoke, can’t be bothered to go back inside to use the toilet.
He said, “I attach no blame to publicans who can’t force patrons to use their toilets, particularly when they leave the premises. There is no excuse for this type of behaviour.
“The smell of bodily exertions is horrendous some Monday mornings and extends up the length of the lane. It isn’t conducive to attracting new or existing business. It is illegal to urinate, defecate or vomit on private property and it is doesn’t say much for society that some people think this is acceptable.
“Although I am a ratepayer, I am not blaming Ennis Town Council, which has spent a lot of money improving the overall appearance of Cooke’s Lane. I don’t blame the gardaí either, they can’t be on the spot all the time. I want to do my business without having to put up with foul smells,” he said.