More gardaí on the beat in the centre of Tipperary's largest town

Additional gardaí will be again deployed in Clonmel’s town centre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week to deal with issues including drug use and anti-social behaviour.

That’s according to Garda Superintendent Niall O’Connell.

He said that these are the days with the greatest footfall in the town centre. The patrol will be carried out in addition to normal policing duties.

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Superintendent O’Connell said that since his appointment to this area a year ago next month, he had met with many of the local stakeholders, including business people and local politicians.

One of the main issues raised with him was the visibility of gardaí on the street, and a lack of gardaí on the beat to deal with drug use and anti-social behaviour.

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One of the first initiatives he introduced was an operation in the lead-up to Christmas that saw additional gardaí on the beat in the town centre. He said that this was catered for by gardaí working overtime, in addition to normal policing.

“That was to ensure that there were gardaí on the beat for visibility, and the perception of safety for the people of Clonmel,” he stated.

The operation finished on Christmas Day, and the reaction was so positive that Superintendent O’Connell has decided to introduce a dedicated beat patrol in the town centre from Thursday-Saturday.

When asked why this beat patrol couldn’t be deployed seven days a week, he said “We do not have an infinite amount of finance and I have to work within the budget I am allocated.

“I see this as such an important aspect of policing that I’m diverting funds towards it”.

He said they also had to bear in mind the other policing needs of the area, with the garda division also covering the towns of Cahir, Cashel and Carrick-on-Suir.

Superintendent O’Connell says that resources have to be allocated equally across the entire area.

He says that Clonmel is “a fantastic town” and he is very impressed with all of south Tipperary.

“People are really welcoming and everybody wants to see the best for the area. We want to work with the public in ensuring that people can enjoy the benefits of the area”.

Originally from Cork city, Superintendent O’Connell graduated as a garda in 2000 and was stationed in Thurles for his first four years.

The majority of his career has been spent in his home city as Detective Garda and Detective Sergeant. He also served as Inspector in the Cork north division.

Before his arrival in Clonmel, he was Inspector in the Assistant Commissioner’s office.