All About Cork: Public meeting next week to discuss proposed garda changes in Douglas area

A meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 9 at 7pm at Douglas Community Centre to discuss proposed garda changes for Douglas and Carrigaline greater areas.

The public meeting is to discuss the An Garda Síochána proposals for the Douglas and Rochestown area and all are welcome to attend.

Commenting on the plans Seamus McGrath TD said: “Unfortunately, there are proposals put forward by garda management to amalgamate the garda units serving Carrigaline (and Harbour) with Douglas.

“ I do not believe this will be in the best interests of our garda service locally for either the Harbour or Douglas areas. Both areas should have dedicated garda units serving them.

“I think this needs to be resisted strongly and the upcoming meeting provides an opportunity to express your views to the garda management.”

As well as Mr McGrath other public representatives have raised concerns about the possible amalgamation of the garda.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) warned that a lack of manpower could mean the amalgamation of garda units currently covering Carrigaline and Douglas.

Fine Gael minister of state and Cork South Central TD, Jerry Buttimer, said that while the plan was an operational issue for garda management, the minister for justice and the Garda Commissioner needed to address it with local management.

“I know from talking to local gardaí that it is something they’re very unhappy about, and it’s something that needs urgently to be clarified,” said Mr Buttimer.

Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, said that the plan was a matter of great concern, and highlighted a lack of understanding of Cork’s policing needs.

“I believe it’s high time that acknowledgement needs to be given to the fact that areas like Carrigaline, Glanmire, Ballincollig, large new suburbs like that, don’t get their fair share of garda resources devoted by central command, and that’s something that has to be reviewed,” he said.

Independent councillor for Cork South-East and former lord mayor, Kieran McCarthy, said there had long been calls to increase garda numbers in the Douglas area, and pointed out that to call it a neighbourhood did not do it justice.

“It also has all of Rochestown, and parts of Grange, with Donnybrook itself having large population numbers. The district has more than 20,000 people living in it,” said Mr McCarthy.

“Commissioner Harris must take an interest in Cork and allocate gardaí to city units as a matter of priority,” said Mr Horgan.

Colm Kelleher, Fianna Fáil city councillor for the South-West ward and former lord mayor, said the plan was “alarming”, and he intended to raise it with justice minister Jim O’Callaghan.

Labour Party Cork City Councillor Peter Horgan has written to the minister for justice Jim O’Callaghan TD to meet with local representatives on the proposal that an amalgamation of garda units is on the cards for Douglas and Carrigaline because of ghost units.

“The Cork City divisions is continuously now being treated as the poor relation for Garda allocations by this Commissioner,” said Cllr Horgan.

“I have written to the minister for justice on the specific issue that we are facing amalgamation of the Douglas and Carrigaline units because of ghost units. There is clear community opposition to this and cross-party opposition to this proposal.

“The area of Douglas continues to grow as does Carrigaline and we need more gardaí, not less.

“We are sleepwalking into a situation that will be very hard to walk back from and ultimately the commissioner needs to prioritise Cork based on this proposal, he needs to prioritise Douglas and Carrigaline.

“I would hope the Minister would come to the area to see for himself the issues that frontline Gardaí are dealing with.”

All are welcome to attend the meeting on April 9.

Douglas Comhaltas members perform at Fleadh launch

Cllr McCarthy’s historical walking tours return for 2025

Former Lord Mayor and current independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy is to restart his free historical walking tours during the month of April. Tours will be of the Barrack Street/ Friar’s Walk area, the Shandon quarter, the old Cork City workhouse site on Douglas Road at St Finbarr’s Hospital, and Fitzgerald’s Park respectively.

“Having an opportunity to show people around the heritage of Cork city has always been an important job of work for me,” said Cllr McCarthy.

“I have pursued more research than ever in recent years. As more and more old newspapers and books are digitised it has allowed greater access to material and hence more material to create historical walking trails of some of Cork’s most historical suburbs and heritage set pieces.

“I am also trying to sharpen the tours I have and to create new ones in a different suburb. The four areas I am re-starting with for the 2025 all have their own unique sense of place, their own cultural and built heritage, their own historic angles, some really interesting ‘set pieces’ and add their own stories to how the city as a whole came into being. They also connect to the upcoming 2025 Cork Lifelong Learning Festival and its motto of Investigate, Participate and Celebrate,” concluded Cllr McCarthy.

Full details of Kieran’s April tours are:

Saturday, April 5: The Friar’s Walk Tour: Discover Red Abbey, Elizabeth Fort, Barrack Street, Callanan’s Tower and Greenmount area. Meet at Red Abbey Tower, off Douglas Street, 1pm. This tour is in association with the Cork Lifelong Learning Festival.

Sunday, April 6: Shandon Tour: Explore Cork’s most historic quarter. Meet at North Main Street/ Adelaide Street Square, opposite Cork Volunteer Centre, 1pm.

Saturday, April 26: The Cork City Workhouse Tour. Learn about Cork City’s workhouse created for 2,000 impoverished people in 1841, meet just inside the gates of St Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, 1pm.

Sunday, April 27: Fitzgerald’s Park: The People’s Park Tour, from stories on the Mardyke to the Cork International Exhibition, meet at the band stand, 1pm. All tours are free, two hours, and no booking is required.

Arts office free event

Robyn Power

Cork City Council Cork City Council’s Arts Office is set to host a free event at Douglas Community Centre on April 8 at 10am.

The event, titled ‘Developing Partnerships and Collaborations for Creative Community Projects’ forms part of the council’s 2025 Creative Communities Roadshow series. It has upcoming events in Bishopstown, Glanmire and The Glen also.

It will consist of short talks and presentations, as well as a ‘creative taster’ for attendees on developing manifestos for community-led projects, which will be run by artists Marilyn Lennon and Seán Taylor.

Attendees can reserve tickets for the event free of charge on Eventbrite.ie.

The event will discuss funding opportunities that are available from the Council’s Arts Office for creatives in Cork, through a presentation delivered by Siobhán Clancy and Louise Tangney.

There will also be an insight into the creative work of local community group, Douglas Young atHeart, in a talk from its founder Phil Goodman.

The group was set up by Goodman in 2001 to “help alleviate isolation and loneliness in older people.” It is based in Douglas village with members from surrounding areas also, and weekly events are advertised on their website.

The event is set to last for three hours, with breaks for discussion in between.

The council’s last roadshow series took place in October 2024, with a focus on networking for people interested in the arts.

More information about the event can be found on the Arts Office website, at www.corkcity.ie.

Have Douglas news to share? Contact rory.noonan@theecho.ie