Ireland in 2013. No Country For Old Men.

Originally posted by Todzer
I have noticed in the last 10 years that our country has become more and more violent and disrepectful. Once upon a time here the elderly were treated with respect and people treated each other like brothers and now Ireland has turned into a nation of "have nots" that would step on their own grandmother just to get one up on the next person. There is people living in fear and too afraid to stand up for themselves but I can tell for one that I am not one of those people. If any scumbag tried to enter my home they would get a shock and wouldn't be leaving unless they were in a box. I take care of my own be it family or friend and I urge others to do the same when they see the criminal element here victimising innocent people because the next victim could be YOUR mother or father.

The Celtic Tiger (declawed) created a nation of utter twats who began to measure a persons worth by the size of their house their bank balance and the impracticality of their car(s) thankfully that little aspect of the cat has died but still money is placed above personal respect and dignity.
Also it hasn't helped that due to the manipulation of world markets there is a 'Cash For Gold' shop on every main st in the country, and often it is only a table with a scales and a little man in a shopping centre.

This phenomena has eliminated the need for a thief to locate a source to fence their stolen gold through and instead of getting ripped off by fellow thieves on price 'reputable' jewellers now give them the going rate with no questions asked where they got it. it has almost put burglary into the mainstream economy at great cost to many people who have had their precious family heirlooms transacted so easily. And hey if you have to punch a 90 year old widow a few times while ripping her wedding ring from her finger who cares as long as no one asks where it came from.

We are a nation that has proven that we can stand up and fight back.... Now lets show it.

sigh, I wish it were so.......

reply to post by blupblup


With all politics aside, just because someone is considered elderly, that doesn't mean they can't fend for themselves. Two burglars went into my great grandfathers house about ten years ago, he shot both of them before they could harm him. Yes, they had guns. No, they didn't bleed to death. In the 12 minutes it took the police to arrive on the scene, the burglars barely made it to the end of his driveway.

I even remember hearing a story about a 92 year old man who stopped his residence from being robbed. You can find the link to that story here.

reply to post by SmoothRhythm


This is Ireland, despite everything else, terrorist problems, economic problems etc we are fairly civilised.
In civilised countries burgalry is not considered to be deserving of getting shot.
We already fought for this degree of civilisation many many years ago.
Pointing out how backward your country is doesn't help further this argument. And the biggest joke of it all is lots of you actually claim to be Christians..

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea. My parents want to retire to rural Ireland, since that's where a large part of our heritage lies. I just hope that someone does something to get things under control. These jerks are the same as the former British occupation. They used to do the exact same things: steal from the weak, put fear into those who can't fight back, etc. The younger generations need to be taught that this is one of those things the Brits did to the Irish, and doing the same to others makes them just as bad.

reply to post by MoonChild02


Your parents are exactly the sort of people we DON'T WANT in Ireland, small minded bigots who are so stupid they can't pick up a history book and not only read but UNDERSTAND it but instead choose to listen to terrorist propaganda.
So, yeah, tell them to stay away they aren't welcome here

Originally posted by HumansEh


The Celtic Tiger (declawed) created a nation of utter twats who began to measure a persons worth by the size of their house their bank balance and the impracticality of their car(s) thankfully that little aspect of the cat has died but still money is placed above personal respect and dignity.

Well said.

Your OP expresses my thoughts exactly.

My folks live rurally, South Leinster. In the last couple of years there have been a rash of home burglaries in their area, and I worry about them. I'm down there once a week, and I often say to myself "if somebody is going to break in let it be tonight", there would be some sorry little feckers if it played out the way I'd like it to.

Thing is, where my parents live, there seems to be one group/family responsible for the break-ins, when they moved into the area the burglaries began. But as I'm sure you know, rural Ireland is the home of gossip and rumors, and these people I mentioned may not be the real culprits.

Either way one thing is for sure, the local Garda is about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike, there only being two of them to police a massive area, and they're tucked up in bed by 10 o'clock. A 999 call will have you talking to somebody 15 miles away, so if a burglary is in progress the victims are on their own. You'd be better off calling your neighboring farmer who has a shotgun. People need to look out for one another, but like you said in the above quote, the celtic tiger IMO changed Ireland for the worse and a lot of people don't even bother to get to know their neighbors these days, but I digress.

S + F

Slainte.

Originally posted by MoonChild02
Thank you for posting this. I had no idea. My parents want to retire to rural Ireland, since that's where a large part of our heritage lies. I just hope that someone does something to get things under control. These jerks are the same as the former British occupation. They used to do the exact same things: steal from the weak, put fear into those who can't fight back, etc. The younger generations need to be taught that this is one of those things the Brits did to the Irish, and doing the same to others makes them just as bad.

Listen Mate I dont know how to express this politely - but take your lies and stuff them somewhere where the sun don't shine.

The British did NOTHING to Ireland - maybe the rulers did bit NOT the British people.

Stop your poison and lies.

I live out the country with my other half and i would have no problem in using my gun to protect me and her, I sleep every night with the shotgun behing my bed, the dog sleeps in our bedroom and is a very very good guard dog that would wake up with any noise in the house and alert us. god bless any poor soul unlucky enough to croos into our house while were there!!

this country is a joke now and the people up there in government are no better than those scum terrorizing old vulnerable people, they do it themselves in their own way.

reply to post by biggilo


I'm sorry, but I don't see what is so civilized in letting burglars have free reign over yourself or your residence. What is so uncivilized with protecting oneself? The OP stated how the elderly are getting taken advantage of and even hospitalized from some of these robberies. That doesn't seem so civilized to me.

Originally posted by HumansEh

...But he will be out on bail next morning and if he does get any jail time it will be a few weeks maximum (broken home/drug dependency boo hoo) Literally in this country you can get caught doing this up to a hundred times without it really impacting your life in any signifigant way.

Hi Humans,
I hear ya!

To me, it is one of the most frustrating, annoying aspects of the way things are going these days.
I authored a small thread on a similar topic a short while back

THREAD on ATS

I bemoaned the lenient sentencing here (in the UK) and suggested a new approach...
Complete review of minimum sentences for all crimes, AND the doubling of minimum sentences for each repeat offence. (There's more detail in the linked thread!)

I don't see the need for escalating into an arms race for home defence, just put proper deterrents in place AND fund the police force properly so that they can enforce the law.

peace,
GTD

reply to post by SmoothRhythm


Well, if you can't understand something so simple then there isn't any point in even trying to debate it with you.

Originally posted by SmoothRhythm
reply to post by biggilo

 

I'm sorry, but I don't see what is so civilized in letting burglars have free reign over yourself or your residence. What is so uncivilized with protecting oneself? The OP stated how the elderly are getting taken advantage of and even hospitalized from some of these robberies. That doesn't seem so civilized to me.

AGREED ^ ^ .... So everyone's unarmed and defenseless..... hmm, how's that working out for you

reply to post by HumansEh


Some of my ancestors, 300 and 400 years ago, came to America from Ireland, and vanished into the wilderness, away from English eyes and arms. They came to escape the English, who were generally wreaking havoc and outlawing any means of defense against them, including outlawing shillelaghs. Just yesterday morning, I was pondering what is becoming of Ireland after I discovered that even swords are now against the law there - the Irish seem to have done every bit as good a job of disarming themselves as any Englishman ever could have... and they did it to THEMSELVES!

I have to ask - when was the last time there was any drive-by swordplay in Ireland, that they should be outlawed?

It occurs to me that the spirit of the Irish in general (although I'm sure there are particular exceptions) is just not what it had been for the millennia past. Perhaps it got transferred in some esoteric way into the American wilderness.

I feel for ya, brother. Keep an axe handy, since you can always claim it's for work, rather than defense, and just happened to be to hand. Way back when, after the shillelagh was outlawed, walking sticks with knobby handles seem to have come into fashion, serving the same purpose in a pinch, but having a disguise. Where there is a will, there is a way. I can only hope that the will still exists there in some form.

reply to post by biggilo


I couldn't have put it any better myself.

I'm glad we could find some common ground...

Irish should either have garda acessible within 5 minutes in 98% of homes or give firearms to people, anything in-between is just something that criminals will exploit to the fullest. I imagine that import of drugs is directly related with the surge in violent home invasions so that's maybe root of the problem?

The anti-gun aussies and brits will avoid this thread like the plague.

reply to post by Carreau


It's more logic than anti-gun; laxity in that regard doesn't stop this from happening in the US.

Reading through some of the posts here makes my blood boil, some of the proposed solutions are simply unrealistic or plain stupid. Bring back the IRA ? WTF OK lets bring back hundreds of terrorists who bomb the crap out of the country and anyone who stands against them is shot. Where is the logic there please tell me ?
I am Irish and the problem is with the people of Ireland who voted to stay in Europe, we are now seeing the fallout like the rest of Europe and drastic cuts to Government spending is the norm. It was ok when Europe pumped money into Ireland to tie them to Brussels, it was even ok when the Irish people voted to stay out of Europe and Brussels did not take NO for an answer and pressured Ireland to another vote which Brussels won.
Now Brussels are demanding cut backs in every corner of Europe, which ultimately impacts on the working class to feed the bankers.
Yes crime will go up even more than today, yes there will be more cut backs that bite deep into the average working mans pocket. Yes there will be more directives from Brussels which the Irish people will not like, but it is too late now so you just have to suck it up. In my opinion being independent or part of the UK is more appealing than being tied to Brussels, but that's another thread entirely. Policing is the key to this problem and the outcry from the people must be heard, stop the cuts to essential services or the people protest on a large scale so Government get the message and send a clear message to Brussels.

reply to post by blupblup


Yes lets give them a good timeout. Right . Grow a set of Balls . If they think even old grannie will shoot them they will avoid her house . The British no gun thing isn't working . You can't deal with a young tough kid who thinks he can take anything he wants from you . Next time he will want no witnesses .

reply to post by SimonPeter


It isn't a 'British no gun thing', it's most of the planet who think like that.
I still haven't heard 1 reason as to why a crime like burglary deserves death or extreme injury.
The more of these threads I read that are full of gun lunatics the more I see similarities between America and Saudi Arabia, in fact I ALMOST think the Saudis might be slighlty more civilised on that front, all they do is cut your hand off...execution without trial seems to be what Americans favour..
And, incidentally, to the all the Anti-British people here banging on about how bad Britain is to Ireland (this is 21st century not 19th), when Ireland needed a bail out (agree with it or not and say what you want about it) the ONLY country who offered and gave the money NO STRINGS ATTACHED was the UK.
If anyone needs to grow a set of balls it is Americans who prefer to hide behind their guns like cowards instead of accepting there is something fundamentally wrong with their society and fixing it.

reply to post by biggilo


Well you may see where breaking in and beating an old defenceless person is punishable with a slap but not over here . In the first place you would likely kill the old person by brutality or by depriving them of needed medicine or food . That's murder to me and deserves the maximum .
As for Britain I don't want anything from them . I don't want their population control, gun advice queen or princes and most of America feels the same way . We are America , we are fine over here . We do not want to be England and evidently neither does Ireland . Your Piers Morgan is unwelcome over here .