'Ireland of today is thankfully a safer place to live than in recent decades'

Irish Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Although it doesn't always feel like it at times, we are all now living in the second most peaceful country in the world after Iceland.
That is according to the Global Peace Index, which monitors crime and violence all over the planet.
We might whinge about the Gardai or the outgoing Commissioner Drew Harris but in fairness they have and are doing one hell of a job.
Over the last decade or two this country was riddled by gangland violence and not a week went by without someone being murdered.
There seemed to be no prices on life and fellas were willing to carry out hits for as little as €500. Some working class areas were no-go zones and ran by the gangs who ruled them. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris arriving at Leinster House for the Public Accounts Committee. 26.06.2025 (Image: Sam Boal/Collins Photos)
It was a living hell for the silent majority of the law-abiding citizens living in these grim places and they were afraid to speak out in case it cost them their lives.
The fingerprints of the Kinahan Crime Organisation were at one stage all over the country but thankfully not any more.
The number of killings and violent incidents since the ending of the notorious Kinahan-Hutch feud is way down and almost every known serious criminal or paid assassin involved in gangland is now banged up for years behind bars. Daniel Kinahan Wanted Poster issued by US authorities
The streets of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Drogheda which witnessed the most violence are now far safer places to live.
The truth is the vast majority of killings that now take place here are either domestic or deadly random attacks where the murderer is known to the victim.
The chances of you being killed walking down the street are more or less zero and your children are safe at school and in universities - something you can not say about many other countries.
Of course drugs are still a big problem in this country just like everywhere else. Cocaine is available in every village, town and city and has become the preferred drug of choice among a whole generation. The middle classes are using it more than anyone.
The cocaine industry is worth billions worldwide and traffickers continue to use Ireland as a smuggling route. For every shipment captured by the authorities here, there is probably five times as much getting through.
But credit where it is due and the Gardai and the Irish Military have had a number of big successes against the drug lords in recent years. Three Garda officers seen in a busy Grafton Street in Dublin city center. On Wednesday, 07 July 2021, in Dublin, Ireland (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
When I was growing up Ireland was gripped every day by the Troubles as it was known in Northern Ireland.
Every morning you woke up to reports of some violent incident on radio between explosions, shootings and beatings across the six counties. It also spread down here with regular friction in border areas.
The Dublin and Monaghan bombing which left 33 people dead plus an unborn child is still the biggest atrocity of that era and nobody has ever been arrested or prosecuted for it.
Those were dark grim days that dragged down the energy and confidence of this country.
The Ireland of today that we are living in is thankfully a different place and there is no doubt that peace in the north has made a huge contribution because the guns, explosives and ammunition that once riddled this country are no longer around. The Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin (Image: Getty Images)
The latest crime figures for the first quarter of 2025 show an overall 7 per cent reduction compared to last year. This is an amazing achievement considering the population grew by over 90,000 in 2024.
The incidents of theft, robbery of a person, aggravated burglary, residential burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage are way down.
We still have a few problems to sort out - a rise in the number of rape cases and sexual assault which the experts believe is being fuelled by internet porn.
There is also a big rise in the amount of fraud - especially on the internet - and public disorder offences largely in the Dublin area.
There are countries around the world who would do anything to have low crime figures like we have.
But do you feel safe enough to leave your key in the front door or the doors of your home unlocked? None of us do and probably never will, that ship probably sailed in the 1960s when Ireland only had half the population it has now.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.