Yesterday was a day of drama in my local area. In the late afternoon Gardai and the Defence forces arrived in force to arrest men in relation to alleged republican subversive activity. It is alleged that material for
bomb making material was also discovered.
This all happened around the corner from where I live. It shows that no place and nobody is immune from the events taking place in the North. I have to praise the army and Garda for their work. It is only when you see it up close that you appreciate the risk that those in uniform take on our behalf.
I recently attended a meeting with local senior Gardai. They were briefing public representatives on their work in the area. Their first objective was national security. I dismissed this as of lesser importanance than drug
dealing or pubic order offences. How completely and utterly wrong I was.
Paschal