This article is from page 12 of the 2009-10-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
RESIDENTS in the Francis Street area of Ennis are forced to contend with mayhem, due to the actions of late-night revellers who are urinating and vomiting all over the place.
The comments from a member of the residents association were made at Ennis District Court on Friday, during an application for a dance li- cence for The Queen’s Hotel.
While the speaker did not raise an objection to the licence being grant-
ed, grave concerns were expressed about the behaviour of patrons leav- ing late-night premises.
“We are not objecting to the l- cence. We have a problem with anti- social behaviour that takes place on our street between 3 and 4am. The majority of the people have been liv- ing there for 70 or 80 years,” said the resident. She said that some people urinate and vomit all over the place. ‘We take pride in our street and we look after each other. We want it con- trolled,’ she said.
She said that litter is thrown through boxes, cables are damaged and trees are vandalised. “There is ongoing mayhem. We shouldn’t have to toler- ate this,” she said.
Asked by Judge Joseph Mangan had gardai been informed about this, she said they had. Inspector John Galvin then told the court that the area is po- liced daily and nightly by gardai and issues are dealt with as they arise.
The judge asked him was there an inordinate amount of anti-social be- haviour. Inspector Galvin said that
when there are in the region of 1,500 people on the streets in a small area, there is going to be some level of anti-social behaviour. The judge said, ‘Maybe there would be less problems so if the number was smaller.” Solicitor for the Queen’s Hotel, Ma- rina Keane, pointed out that the res1- dents were not lodging an objection to the licence being granted. She said that the manager of the premises has met with residents and has undertak- en to meet them again. She said her clients would consider proposals put
forward by residents.
Ms Keane said that her clients would make every effort to ensure residents were inconvenienced as lit- tle as possible. She said there are four other licensed premises in the vicin- ity and it would be unfair to say that all the problems were generated from one premises.
Judge Mangan adjourned the appli- cation until next month and told the residents spokeswoman she would have to make up her mind whether she was objecting to the licence.