Garda checkpoints in Galway: ‘If we stop, the traffic and footfall will grow’

It is hot work in uniform. The line of traffic snakes along the seafront in Salthill and, at first glance, it could be any fine May bank holiday. Except the pubs and restaurants are boarded shut and the swimming points are quiet. Garda Nuala Sweeney is stopping every car headed west. Her colleague Austin Kelly is engaging motorists heading past Leisureland and towards the village.

“What’s the purpose of your journey?”

“And where are you travelling to?”

“Okay. We’re encouraging people to stay within their distance...”

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The exchanges are brief and good-humoured for the most part. It’s close to 5.30pm and the two gardaí have been manning the checkpoint since 9am. This narrow seafront strip must be one of the busiest areas in the country since lockdown began. Local residents within 2km use the promenade, which is now blissfully free of out-of-towners. And other people are finding reasons to get into the car.

We take all your details and send a file to the DPP. We have done this if it has been a very unnecessary journey

“The traffic flow has been strong throughout the day,” says Sgt Frank Hand. “People are coming in for shopping and for prescriptions in the pharmacies. We are stopping everyone. We check details. We are advising them to stay within the 2km. There are people we are turning around as well – and cyclists.”

He says “a lot of people working have begun to carry documentation. And I suppose a lot of people are getting prescriptions for parents – there is a big older age group living in Salthill. And we are offering assistance if they want prescriptions dropped off or pensions collected or food – if they ring the station we will do it.”

Hectic

The May bank holiday in Galway city is traditionally demanding and hectic for the city’s Garda stations, but this weekend there is no nightlife and no revellers. Since the Covid-19 lockdown started, rosters have been redrafted, and checkpoints have become a prominent part of the day-to-day duties. The fine for driving outside the designated area is €2,500. It’s a last resort but it has been imposed.

“We take all your details and send a file to the DPP. We have done this if it has been a very unnecessary journey,” Sgt Hand says.

At the end of the M6 motorway, which runs from the edge of the city to Dublin, a checkpoint has been in place all weekend and will remain until midnight on Monday evening.

On Saturday afternoon, the long, straight road was deserted at times. Still, gardaí had turned back several cars over the course of the afternoon.

“The motorists are expecting to engage with us,” says Supt Sean Glynn. “There are other issues that are coming up at checkpoints as well as Covid: traffic and other offences that we are dealing with.”

Back in Salthill, Sgt Hand says “the vast majority of people are compliant” with the movement restrictions, but “if we stop for two or three hours then the traffic and the footfall will grow. It is the visibility apart from anything else.”