This article is from page 1 of the 2008-05-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
FEARS of an escalation of a violent Traveller feud in Ennis have moved the Bishop of Killaloe to plead for calm.
Dr Willie Walsh said last night he was prepared to engage in media- tion talks in an effort to put an end to long-running bitterness between two conflicting Traveller families.
He made the comment as a senior garda told a court last Friday that he was “very fearful of the outcome of this feud.”
Garda management confirmed they are keeping a close eye on the situa- tion, in the face of a recent flare-up.
Ennis Superintendent John Scanlan said yesterday that gardai “‘are con- tinuing to monitor the situation.”
“We hope that sense would prevail in the situation. A lot of it is mean- ingless,” he said.
The plea by Dr Walsh came in the wake of five members of three fami- lies appearing in court on charges
relating to incidents involving the families last week when they were all remanded in custody.
During the court hearing, gardai expressed concerns that ‘innocent’ members of the public may become embroiled in the feud and objected to bail for the accused.
Bishop Walsh said last night, “I have concerns about the various feuds between different families. I appeal to everybody to desist from anything that might deepen the dif- uo Come
“T have talked to some of the peo- ple involved and I believe there is good reason for concern,” he said.
“Continuation of these bad relation- ships is really destructive to every- body. It is a real loss to everybody,” he said.
“I know there was some efforts of mediation some time ago. I wasn’t involved. I’d certainly be prepared to try to arrange mediation. I’d be open to that. I will try and talk to some of the people,” said Dr Walsh.