Public Drinking in the Diamond Is Putting Off Visitors, Says Monaghan Safety Chief
Cllr Alan Johnston, who chairs the Monaghan Local Community Safety Partnership, says public drinking and nuisance in the Diamond in Monaghan town is leaving a negative impression on visitors and locals.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
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Monaghan County Museum. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
Public drinking and nuisance behaviour in the Diamond in Monaghan town is leaving a negative impression on visitors and locals, according to Cllr Alan Johnston, chairperson of the Monaghan Local Community Safety Partnership.
Speaking to Shannonside Northern Sound on Saturday 17 October, Cllr Johnston said only a very small number of individuals are responsible. He said everyone should feel safe to walk the streets of Monaghan town without feeling intimidated.
Calls for more gardaí
It is not the first time this autumn. In September, Cllr Johnston called for more Garda visibility in the town, saying a "small few" were bringing it down and that if people are afraid walking down the town, "there is a fear there and that needs to be addressed", Northern Sound reported.
What gardaí said
On 25 September, Inspector Damien Martin told Northern Sound the figures for reported anti-social behaviour suggested no increase in Monaghan town. He said there had been 24 arrests for public order incidents in the town since May, that gardaí had carried out walking patrols over a busy summer, and that more gardaí would "of course" be welcome.
He described the town as overall a peaceful place and asked anyone with concerns about anti-social behaviour to contact their local Garda station.
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