CORK CITY centre came to a halt yesterday as up to 4,000 people turned out to protest silently at the deaths of two young men who were fatally injured on St Patrick's night when a stolen car, driven at speed, went out of control.
The deaths of Trevor O'Connell and Stephen Kirby, both 17 and from the Parklands area of Fairhill, brought to three the number of young people who have died on Cork's north side as a result of stolen car racing in the past month.
An 11 year old boy, Christopher O'Flynn, from the Church field area, died some weeks ago when the stolen car in which he was a passenger went out of control. The latest victims of the car racing phenomenon in Cork died as they were walking home from a local chip shop. Mr O'Connell, an accomplished soccer player, was due to have had a trial with Derby County FC in England next season.
The tragedy has united the northside community in grief and rise to widespread calls for tougher action against car thieves. Hundreds of people attended a meeting earlier in the week at the Na Piarsaig Hurling and Football Club near where the two young men died, to express their anger.
Yesterday the silent protest convened at Daunt's Square in Cork. The thousands of people who gathered to enforce the point about "death riders" then marched through the city centre to the City Hall, where they were met on the steps by the Lord Mayor, Mr Jim Corr. Members of the bereaved families joined the protesters on the march.
The protest march was organised by Mrs Margaret Ahern and Mrs Breda Horgan of Parklands, neighbours of the young men who died.
A man appeared at a special sitting of Cork District Court last week charged with taking a car without the owner's permission.
At the City Hall a petition bearing thousands of signatures was handed in to the Lord Mayor. Before that, the marchers observed a minute's silence. The marchers were asked by the organisers not to carry offensive placards and to commemorate the deaths in a dignified manner. The march, they said, was a non political protest aimed at highlighting a serious problem in Cork. The umbrella group for the concerned residents has been named People Against Killer Riders.
The objectives of the umbrella group are to stamp out so called joyriding to halt the practice of speeding in stolen cars to make local residents aware of the need to cope with the problem to heighten awareness of the issue in the schools and to enlist the help of the Garda and the Department of Justice in the matter.
The organisers have also appealed to residents of Cork's north side not to become involved in retaliation and to debate the issue of car theft and car racing calmly.
The Lord Mayor met the march organisers at the City Hall yesterday and told them he had consulted the Garda and other authorities. He added: "I believe the two ladies who organised this march are most genuine and that they have a serious point to make. There is a real problem in the city.
"We need a multi faceted approach involving the local community and the Garda. We also need to reflect on the fact that the time has come to return to the standards of law and order which make a respectable society. That's something with which the people will have to come to grips.
"The Garda and the local authorities cannot do it on their own - we need the help of the people - and that is why today's march is so important. I am a teacher, but I am afraid that the schools have opted out of this struggle and are taking, the least line of resistance.