A small farmer, based a few miles north-east of Athenry, is at the end of his tether after he fell victim to criminals and vandals – for the third time in the past decade.
The most recent damage to property suffered by P. J. Hynes occurred while he and his family were away at a wedding – only to return to find his expensive machinery wrecked to a point where he now won’t even bother with repairs.
BY FRANCIS KENNEDY
The saga began in 2006, when P.J. – a native of Castle Ellen, having lived in Tysaxon for over 30 years – bought a wilderness in Cahertubber East and set about reclaiming the land.
With a background in machinery repairs and service, he invested more than €25,000 in some plant, including a Samsung 210 excavator and a couple of tractors and trailers. He spent the next few years turning the wilderness into a workable farm.
Everything went fine until 2010 when he was horrified to find one morning that every pane of glass, every light-cover, even the glass on the dashboards on all his machines had been maliciously broken.
He reported the crime to Monivea Gardaí and investigations began – but meantime, P. J. was left with no option but to pay almost €5,000 to have the machines repaired.
The investigation resulted in a number of people being questioned but everything was denied and – without evidence – nothing could be done to bring those responsible to justice.
PJ got on with his work until four years later, in 2014, he was met with the exact same scenario. More vandalism, more mindless, malicious damage to his machines which are kept over a mile from the family home.
Gardaí again investigated; those suspected of being responsible were questioned but once again, with no admissions of guilt and no evidence, there was no prosecution.
Then came the third attack on the June public holiday weekend this year. It was if the perpetrators were punishing the farmer for reporting their crimes.
“We were away at a wedding and this fact would have been known locally,” he says.
All glass and lights in all his machines were broken for a third time, even lights that were protected by metal guards. This time, a despondent P.J. is not going to have the machines repaired.
“Even if I could afford the repairs, I haven’t the heart or the will to continue. It will only happen again”, he says. “I have nothing left. We are always blaming criminals from Dublin and other places but these criminals are living amongst us. Where do we go from here?”
Local County councillor Gabe Cronnelly and Monivea Gardai have been working diligently in an effort to rid this area of crime but it is not an easy task.
“This is just one of many crimes in this rural area,” says Cllr. Cronnelly.
“We are also plagued with illegal dumping of household refuse in picturesque areas. It’s bad enough and unacceptable to be targeted once by this gang but three times is just too much.
“Though the area has an active Neighbourhood Watch and signs are in place, we have made little or no progress. I call on local people to report any suspicious activity to the local Gardaí,” he added.
Gardaí in Monivea are actively investigating this and other criminal activity. “Enquiries are ongoing and we appeal to anyone with relevant information to contact the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111 or Monivea Garda station at 091 849002,” a spokesman said.
But meantime, one small farmer’s efforts to create arable land from a wilderness have been thwarted.
“It’s depressing”, he said, “they say third time lucky, well it’s three times unlucky in my case. In the hope of some concrete evidence, a reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest”.
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