REACTION:The violent deaths of two Polish men outside a chip shop has left locals shocked and horrified
THE SOUTH-CITY area has one of the richest sporting heritages in the country. Athlete Eamonn Coghlan, Olympic gold medal winning boxer Michael Carruth, soccer internationals Paul McGrath, Tony Dunne and Kevin Moran all grew up in the area, as did former Ireland managers Brian Kerr and Don Givens.
Despite this, Drimnagh has no swimming pool, gymnasium, library or café-type facility for young people to congregate in in the evenings, other than the local John Bosco centre, which has limited opening hours.
Developers have bought up large swathes of land along the Luas line and other prime locations. Locals and Dublin City Council have been involved in drawing up an integrated area plan for Drimnagh seeking to ensure developments proposed for the area improve facilities for everybody. That plan is due to be published next month.
Local Fine Gael TD Catherine Byrne says it needs a facility similar to The Base, the youth centre and childcare facility currently being developed in Ballyfermot.
"We need to look at alternatives. I'm not saying that it would stop what happened last Saturday night. We just don't know. The people of Drimnagh know what they want. They want places where they can participate in the evenings, not just as individuals but as families.
We need to open youth clubs in the evening. We need to have after-hours services for young people."
Independent councillor Joan Collins, who is organising a vigil for Saturday at 6.30pm outside the chip shop where the two men were attacked, said locals knew the identity of the teenager who carried out the attacks.
"We know he came from a dysfunctional family and had a long history of problems. How was it dealt with?
"We want to know what steps were taken to deal with him before. Has he ever been involved with social services?"
Eamonn Coghlan, whose mother still lives on Cooley Road, said he recalled rival gangs from Crumlin and Drimnagh fighting when he was a child, but nothing on the scale of violence witnessed in the case of the deaths of the two Polish men.
"It boils down to the parents. What kind of a mentality sees a kid go home for a screwdriver to stab somebody with? Where is the vigilance? Where is the discipline? What kind of example have they set?
"The facilities in Drimnagh haven't changed since I was growing up there 40 years ago. What has changed is the lack of parental responsibility and the drink and drugs culture which is messing with kids' heads," he said.
Local parish priest Fr Martin Cosgrove is organising a Mass with the help of the Polish chaplaincy and the embassy, provisionally set for 7.30pm Monday at Mourne Road church.
"There is shock and revulsion here when a human life is taken When a tragedy like this happens in the community, we are happy to play what part we can in supporting the families involved. This is a particular tragedy for someone so far from home, for decent lads who were contributing to the community. It's absolutely appalling," he said.
League of Ireland football club St Patrick's Athletic will hold a minute's silence before their friendly with Blackburn Rovers tonight. Director of football Brian Kerr said:
"We've been involved with and we've built up good relations with the Polish community. We have Polish players playing for us and we've played a friendly against Wisla Krakow. We're trying to find ways that we can help."