Rialto Youth Project in Rialto, Dublin 8
Cónall Thomas, in the Dublin Inquirer, writes:
Over four years, Fiona Whelan gathered stories from young people in Rialto in answer to the request: talk about a moment in your life when you felt powerful or powerless.
Many of the 60 anonymous accounts she collected had one thing in common: they touched on encounters with gardaí.
“I’d say I get stopped 20 times a month. 20 times a month just for walking around,” wrote one young man from Rialto. “I’d be walking, a Garda car would see me and stop and ask me where I’m going.”
As the project snowballed and interest grew, Whelan, an artist in residence at the Rialto Youth Project, and Jim Lawlor, the manager there, worked it into something practical: two modules that could be taught to gardaí during their training – to help them work better with children in the neighbourhood and further afield.
But while it looked for a while as if the modules might be taken up, almost a decade on they are still pushing for that to happen…
In fairness, the last time I was in Rialto I got on the Luas and a guy was there shouting at random people and then pulled his trousers down and rubbed himself against someone. So the Gardai have somewhat of a point, although 20 times is excessive.
i already said sorry for that
best laugh on BS today. well done.
if you are getting stopped 20 times a month, that is on you.
something you need to evaluate.
So…..you are blaming somebody for obvious harrassment?
I was burgled last year, rang An Gardai, 4 days later I rang back to find out what was happening, 2 days later rang back again to see if they were going to come around. After 10 days I just gave up.
Obviously the insurance company wasn’t going to pay out for the broken window and the stolen laptop so I ran GSOC to complain.
Nearly 12 months later, nothing from either AGS or GSOC. Is there any actual point to them outside of getting p*ssed in Copperface alcoholics club and cancelling points for Paul ‘scumbag’ Williams?
was hit by a car outside Connolly Station in Dublin earlier this year, got the make, model, colour and license plate of the car and a witness who gave their name and phone number. Gave it all in to the Guards, clean cut case (especially with the CCTV on the street). After numerous inquiries, nothing has happened. What was the f-ing point of going to them in the first place.
we saw the CCTV
you were jaywalking aggressively
case closed.
that would be ‘paulwalking aggressively’.
They used to casually amble in my shop in Temple Bar at least two hours after I rang them about a robbery. There was also the time I called because I was sick of the junkies using in the empty lot across from my apartment (eff you smithfield, never again), and they came quickly enough but then asked the junkies to finish up their business, waited outside for them to finish injecting and then walked on. USELESS.
They like to *look* useful, eg stopping somebody in a tracksuit 20 times, but they only care about their own skin.
Aye. I lived on Church St years ago. Not fun.
“if you are getting stopped 20 times a month, that is on you”
what?!!
The whole point of the article is pointing out where prejudice among the guards exists, people get stopped unfairly for doing nothing.
I’m petite, living in a dodgy area and have been known to wear the odd tracksuit of a weekend. I was stopped – full lights, sirens and all and ROARED at (I didn’t think the sirens could be for me, I was doing nothing but cycle down the street)
When I turned around in shock and asking wtf, his demeanor went from night to day.
We have no real idea how badly these people are being treated from the getgo
lucky you didn’t have the left leg of your grey sweatpants tucked into your sock while holding a crutch
Heh. That made me snigger.
im working beside sherrif st at the moment, a 30 second walk from the ifsc, but the amount of flagrant dealing and benzo packets everywhere is nuts….but its ok…cause the gardai park up at the corner for a few hours during the day and sit in the car as a deterrent….both of them, on their phones not even looking down the road to the lads selling.
I had to look up ‘benzo packets’. #SouthSideSheltered
In fairness some of them are probably discarded by the sheltered south dublin types working in BOI.
I always bring my empty packets home
That is where i learnt my trade. wonderful place to work