'Sick to my stomach': Entire community of Longford shaken by ‘traumatic’ double stabbing

As the monthly meeting of Longford County Council got underway less than 48 hours after a double stabbing in the town, there was an audible sense of disgust and anger within the chamber over the latest incident to arise from an escalating feud. 

Cathaoirleach Garry Murtagh began proceedings by expressing solidarity with the Gardaí before suspending standing orders in order to allow councillors have their say. 

Independent Councillor Mark Casey did not hold back in voicing an anger felt by many. He expressed disappointment at what had happened and pointed out that it’s “not always the native Longford person responsible” for the violence. 

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He told the chamber, “It is a problem we’re inheriting not only from other counties, but from other countries. It has to be looked at who is coming into our town? Who is being housed in our town? And why are they being housed here? 

“Growing up in Longford was, for me, a fabulous town to go into and enjoy. Now I see young people from my area refusing to go in because of this sort of activity. It’s not good enough. It’s not always the native Longford person (responsible), there’s a lot of stuff going on here with people coming into our county. That’s what we need to tackle.” 

Cllr Casey added, “We need to find the root cause of why these people are here. Why Longford? Why are they fighting in Longford? It tends to stick to Longford. If something happens in Offaly or Westmeath, it’s forgotten about. If it happens in Longford, you’ll hear about it in two years time. We need to go to the source of the problem and stop the influx of people from outside this county coming in and causing harm.”

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Laying the blame at the door of the courts and their leniency when it came to granting bail, Cllr Seamus Butler, also pointed out that our prisons are so full, “there are dozens sleeping on floors” in Castlerea Prison.

He said, “I never use the word feud. I talk about serious criminal activity and that's what this is. Stabbing is attempted murder. I have reservations now about our justice system because our prisons are full. Even in Castlerea, there are dozens sleeping on floors. Even when a serious crime has been committed, they’re given bail, because there isn’t room for them in prison. Bail is a privilege but it’s being abused.”

Cllr Butler continued, “The prison system doesn’t seem to understand that as the population grows, the number of crimes committed grow as do the number of prison spaces needed. Anyone who has committed a serious crime should not be walking the streets.

“Having Gardai on foot patrol in town not only deters street violence, but it also has a psychological effect on people in the town, to see Gardaí on the street in that it makes them feel safer.

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“There is also the reputational damage to consider. When it hits the national papers, when it’s Athlone or Mullingar, it’s a midlands town, but it’s always Longford when it happens in Longford. We need to turn that around. There’s so many great things happening in Longford like the Festival of Lights and we need to really work on that.” 

Cllr Niall Gannon described the “outrageous behaviour” of the night of Monday, February 9 as “not just an incident, but a traumatic event for our town.” 

He added, “Two people were seriously injured, families have been devastated and an entire community has been shaken. It's absolutely outrageous but let me say clearly: violence like this has no place in Longford. None. Our town is built on community, decency and people looking out for one another. When something like this happens, it hurts everyone.” 

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Cllr Gannon acknowledged the “immediate response of the Longford Gardaí, the emergency services, and medical staff who acted swiftly and professionally and who prevented this situation from becoming worse.”

He added, “But we also need to be honest. People are frightened. Residents are asking serious questions about safety in our town centre. Business owners are worried. Parents are worried. That fear cannot be dismissed. We cannot simply express outrage and move on. We need a visible Garda presence on our streets, proper resourcing for community policing, stronger engagement with youth services and diversion programmes, and a clear safety plan for our town centre. Prevention matters just as much as enforcement.”

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Cllr Gannon said a stronger and more visible Garda presence was needed on the streets. “In the last two allocations, we got three Gardaí in the last five years. That’s not enough. Nine Gardaí have left the Longford division since December and they have only been replaced by two Gardaí.

“We must also be united in saying: this is not acceptable, and it will not define our town. Longford is better than this. We will respond not with fear, but with strength, clarity and action. If the resources are not there, then we as elected representatives must demand them. Public safety is not optional, it’s fundamental. We must demand more Gardaí and we must get ministerial involvement. What happened here on Monday night was an absolute disgrace. I’m sick to my stomach about what happened.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme