A robbery at Gort Mart on Sunday night has once again highlighted the scourge of rural crime in Galway. The incident was mentioned at this week’s meeting of Galway County Council. Ardrahan based representative Michael Fahy called for a superintendent to be reinstated in the Gort district to help address the crime problem in the locality.
Gort Garda Station always had a superintendent until it was downgraded to a sub-district, and it now shares a superintendent with the Loughrea district. Councillor Fahy referred to the large number of break-ins occurring all over Galway and particularly in the south of the county. He is not happy about the reduction in garda personnel. “It is a major drawback to south Galway that there is no superintendent in Gort. It is a disgrace that this has been allowed to happen. I am calling on the Department of Justice to ensure a superintendent is reinstated in Gort. We need all the help we can get to put an end to this kind of thuggery. Break-ins are causing major upheaval and loss to honest, hard-working people. What happened in Gort Mart is outrageous, they ransacked the place.”
The incident at the mart has shocked the locality. The raiders are thought to have entered the premises at around 11pm on Sunday, and they vindictively caused thousands of euro worth of damage. They escaped with a very small sum of money as the majority of business is conducted via cheques and bank drafts. However windows and doors were broken, and the mart office was also vandalised. Computers were broken, the phone line was cut and the alarm failed to activate, while CCTV cameras were destroyed meaning there are no images of the culprits.
Anybody who may have noticed suspicious activity in the vicinity of Gort Mart on Sunday evening is asked to contact local gardai on 091-636 400.
