A county councillor confronted a group of youths drinking in public following a house party.
The Fine Gael representative has been at the centre of a social media storm after an incident in which a gang of teenagers was found drinking close to the Mill in the north Longford village of Drumlish on Saturday morning.
Cllr Paraic Brady said he first came across a group of four teenagers at around 11am and asked them to ensure any disused cans or bottles were taken away.
A short time later, he returned and found several items discarded in the river, causing him to challenge the same group of teenagers for a second time.
“A man I know rang me after that to tell me they hadn’t bothered to do what I had asked twice, so he said ‘What should I do?’” said Cllr Brady.
“I said to him: ‘Ring the guards’ and the next thing I saw was the same fellas walking up the road. I just said: ‘Lads, I asked you nicely to tidy up the mess’.”
The local farmer, who also sits on the County’s Joint Policing Committee (JPC) said his annoyance at what had gone before exacerbated when he noticed one of the group recording the incident on his mobile phone.
“I spotted your man on the phone and I just said: ‘Do you think this is a funny joke?’”
It’s believed the incident followed a house party which had taken place in Drumlish the night beforehand, raising fears over social distancing concerns in the face of the pandemic.
