Madam, – It is with sadness that I write this message about the state of the streets of Dublin. My son just returned home to Toronto after a wonderful month in Ireland with 80 other Canadian high school kids who studied English literature at UCC, UCG and UCD.
On their last night after a farewell banquet, nine of these kids (16 and 17-year-olds) were accosted in the middle of Grafton Street at just after 10pm by four drug-induced punks who threatened to knife them if they didn’t buy drugs from them. Luckily they ran and got away from these gurriers who shouted anti-American profanities at them.
Our Canadian kids were scared and insulted. It was a very bad end to an otherwise great visit to Ireland and if our kids hadn’t been smart enough to turn the other cheek, who knows what tragedy I would be reporting.
It is hard to believe that on a main thoroughfare of Dublin such as Grafton Street at such an hour that people have to live or maybe even die, because of this drug epidemic. Where are the gardaí? Isn’t it time for a bit of law and order, at least on the main streets of the nation’s capital?
At a time when Tourism Ireland is working hard to bring much needed tourists to Ireland, this kind of behaviour on your main streets cannot be tolerated.
These 80 kids could have returned to Canada as 80 goodwill ambassadors for Ireland but alas, I’m thinking many of them didn’t after their experience.
Take back your streets, Ireland because if you don’t, you will have no one to blame but yourselves. It’s time the Government faced these serious issues, not waste their time on issues such as banning stag hunting. – Yours, etc,