Sir, – As a family friend of one of Ruairí Ó Brádaigh’s sons I was horrified at the the sight of gardaí in full riot gear at the funeral of a man who was grandfather to some very young children who would have been at the funeral (Home News, June 10th).
Can the spend on what looked to be an unnecessary show of force be justified, given the much talked of need to economise in the Garda Síochána? Or is this just another example of the State- sponsored bullying that has become all too familiar in the north west (Belmullet and Donegal). – Yours, etc,
SARAH GLENNANE,
Oakland Crescent,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
Sir, – I was at Ruairí Ó Brádaigh’s funeral ceremony at the Sacred Heart Church in Roscommon. I was outside during the service and was perturbed by the unnecessary overmanned Garda presence. They were all shapes, sizes and sexes, some in uniform, some in civilian clothes, some with bullet-proof vests and guns and others with small video cameras walking around pointedly recording everybody in attendance. There was even a spotter plane circling in the distance! As Mr Ó Brádaigh was of a senior age, quite a number of the mourners were old-age pensioners.
I cannot call them gardaí any more; they were more like old- style RUC. Their presence and demeanour at the church and graveyard were the only reason there was any trouble. The distress to the Ó Brádaigh family and friends by this over-the-top policing was visible and I am tempted to apply the despised name of “blueshirts” to these permanent employees of our State and Republic.
It was a depressing sight and bordered on the fascist! – Yours, etc,
K NOLAN,
Caldragh,
Carrick-on-Shannon,
Co Leitrim.