“Nothing short of evil” is how Cllr Ruth Illingworth this week described the recent feuding-related violent incidents in Mullingar, which she said had served to further blacken the name of Mullingar.
Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting of Mullingar Town Council, the Fine Gael councillor took the opportunity to emphatically condemn the recent violence in the town, in connection with which several members of two families were charged in court last week.
“The very serious violence in the town in recent weeks has once again besmirched the name of the town, and that is unacceptable. Violence is not acceptable, it is frankly evil,” she said.
Cllr Illingworth also revealed her displeasure at the relish with which the national media report on feud-related violence in Mullingar.
“I am unhappy with some of the media coverage, from the national media. While there are problems here, there is too much focus on Mullingar. It is not the only town where there are problems. There was serious violence in Longford recently involving feuding families, during which a garda was injured, but I don’t recall RTÉ sending a camera down. Violence takes place up and down the country,” she said.
Cllr Mick Dollard added that while he had refrained from comment following the most recent feuding incidents, his name had nonetheless been mentioned in a national newspaper. He took the opportunity to invite the national media to Mullingar to report on the opening of the Joe Dolan Memorial Bridge in September, in an attempt to counter the negative image of the town.
“I would like to issue an open invitation to the national media to come down to Mullingar for the opening of the bridge, and to see first hand how good Mullingar is.
Commending the Gardai and those involved in mediating between feuding factions in the town, Cllr Illingworth added that her speaking out was to do with the rights of the town’s citizens and not with a perceived “anti-Traveller agenda”.
“There may be people who think I am pursuing an anti-Traveller agenda, but it is not about that. It is about the law-abiding people in the town, including the majority of the Travelling community.
It is about Traveller rights, the rights of Traveller women to live in their own house...to live without fear of balaclavaed thugs.
“The reason this motion is right and proper is that we as elected members, who are put here by the people and speak for the people, have an opportunity to say this is totally unacceptable and totally unrepresentative of the people of the town. It gives the town a bad name it doesn’t deserve. What went on in the town is nothing short of evil.”
