Security build-up for annual horse fair in the west

The Garda has strengthened security around Ballinasloe, Co Galway, this weekend for the opening of the annual horse fair. Additional checkpoints will be in place, and several arrests for possession of offensive weapons have been made within the past week.

Extra gardai have been drafted in for the event, which is expected to attract thousands of people. Supt Frank Gunter of Ballinasloe said gardai did not want to spoil the fun of the event. However, he had information which suggested that altercations were possible, and his main concern was for people's safety.

Recent events, including shootings in Ballymote, Co Sligo, Longford and Limerick, and incidents at the Connemara Pony Show in Clifden, at the Galway Races and outside Galway courthouse last month, indicated that these security measures were necessary, Supt Gunter said.

Late last month a District Court judge warned that anybody arrested for being involved in a fracas during October Fair week in Ballinasloe would be remanded in custody. "That goes for everybody, no matter who they are," Judge James O'Sullivan warned.

"We are not going to have the fair, which has stood the test of time, becoming a battleground for marauding gangs arriving in vans to cause trouble," he said. Judge O'Sullivan added that people across the west of Ireland were "getting sick and tired" of fights between "certain families".

"I am not afraid to come out and say it," he said. "They have to respect the rest of the people, and I will jail them." Judge O'Sullivan made his remarks before sentencing a man to six months in jail for breaches of the peace in Ballinasloe on September 12th.

Ballinasloe Urban District Council is becoming increasingly concerned at the security aspect of the event. As it owns the fair green on which the fair is held, it is liable for the Garda wages bill. It has received a £3,000 bill to cover the wages for gardai on duty last year.