GARDAÍ said that one of the longest running operations aimed at tackling drug-dealing in the St Mary’s Park and Kings Island area will resume when resources are available.
This comes as a Limerick TD complained Gardaí appeared to have been diverted away from the area to deal with a violent feud on the opposite side of the city.
As the tit-for-tat feud escalated with shootings, petrol bombings, and pipe-bomb attacks, nightly armed Garda patrols have been concentrated on flashpoint areas on the south side of the city, and Gardaí have hand-delivered Garda Information Messages (GIMs) to at least two men, informing them of a credible threat to their lives.
The drug scourge in St Mary’s Park, however, has been exacerbated by a shift in Garda resources toward Ballinacurra Weston, leaving the Island estate vulnerable to criminal elements, said local sources.
Since the apparent fall-off in Garda operations, drug dealers have been operating unchecked, fuelling addiction and anti-social behaviour, reliable sources added.
Residents and community leaders called for urgent Garda intervention to restore order on both sides of the city before the violence and drug trade spiral even further out of control.
Limerick Sinn Féin TD Maurice Quinlivan said the drugs problem in the area appeared to be “worse than ever before”.
“There is definitely a sense there is no Garda operation going on at the moment, there is 24/7 drug dealing, and it’s very distressing for the residents. There are houses (in St Mary’s Park) selling crack cocaine morning, noon, and night,” said Deputy Quinlivan.
“There is open crack-taking, smoking, injecting heroin in public now, and it is just worse now than ever. People, rightly so, are completely fed up with it.
“As we all know, there is a feud going on on the south side of the city and we do need to address that, that is very important, because I have a concern people will be killed, but we can’t be addressing it to the detriment of an ongoing programme that should be continued in the St Mary’s Park area.”
Deputy Quinlivan said he will call on the Justice Minister to intervene and “ make sure funding and additional Gardaí” are provided to tackle both feuding and drug dealing.
He added: “If it requires us to have additional resources, including the Defence Forces, in the area for a period, then we need to do that”.
Gardaí established Operation Copóg (March 2021) and Operation Feabhsaigh (September 2023) to target the sale and supply of drugs and anti-social behaviour in St Mary’s Park.
However, despite repeated raids and several large seizures of drugs in the area, a reliable source said a type of “complete lawlessness” had returned.
“People are openly injecting heroin in broad daylight, and there is commonly a steady stream of customers queues up outside houses for illegal drugs, apart from brief respites only when stock runs low — locals have dubbed one of the most notorious drug houses in the estate as ‘the crack shop’,” they added.
When asked for comment, a Garda spokeswoman replied that the force “does not comment on third-party remarks”, but provided a statement outlining the work of Operation Feabhsaigh, “which has completed three cycles and is scheduled to resume based on resource availability”.
Operation Feabhsaigh, she said, “is considered a targeted intervention to address the area’s unique challenges and support efforts to combat drug-related criminality and harm”.
“Gardaí from Henry Street, in collaboration with Limerick City and County Council, engage with the community through a problem-focused forum. This forum, which includes public representatives, meets regularly to address community concerns and implement coordinated responses,” she said.
“Beyond Operation Feabhsaigh, which emphasises a visible uniform presence, numerous investigations and additional operations are ongoing in the area.”
The Garda spokeswoman pledged Gardaí were “committed to confronting drug-related issues in the area, and they recognise the complex nature of addiction and the need for a multifaceted approach to dismantle organised criminality”.
