Thanks to all that joined for a very successful Community Social on the 4th October in Castleknock Tennis Club. We had 50 neighbours join for catch up, chew and chat in the very social environment. It is great to have a ‘good news’ event in the social calendar and this highlights the real community spirit that exists in the area.
Special thanks to the organisers on behalf of the Neighbourhood watch group – especially John Murphy, John Nolan and Liam Delaney – and indeed all the street coordinators.
Welcome to our new neighbours who joined on the night – I hope that we did not scare you too much :-).
A very special thanks to own wonderful photographer – Nora Doyle (https://www.noradoyle.com/) who came armed with her camera and has shared some beautiful photos from the night.
23 neighbours were in attendance at St Brigid’s GAA club with apologies from a further 15 neighbours.
We were also joined by Community Garda Alex Mc Dermott ,
The meeting was chaired by the area coordinator for the group – Lorcan Sheehan.
The minutes of the 2023 AGM meeting were read and approved.
Financial Update and report – to March 2024
Received income from neighbour voluntary contributions of €1,520 during the period
€1,493.62 remained in the account at the end of March 2024
Agreed that we did not need to ask neighbours for a further voluntary contribution this year.
Discussed and approved a suggestion to increase slightly the contribution for the community social to cover expenses.
Bank account is now up and running with PTSB, two of the following are required to sign to withdraw funds – Carmel Grogan, Lorcan Sheehan, Ruth Hogan and Ellen Troy
Garda Alex Mc Dermott updated us on recent reports on crime in the area and he gave us valuable advise and insight into the life in the day of a Garda. There was a good questions and answers session and we learned a lot re security and best practice.
Confirmed Area Coordinator, street coordinators, treasurer, secretary
Area Coordinator: Lorcan Sheehan
Street Coordinators: Liam Delaney, Ruth Hogan, John Murphy, Charlie O’Connor, John Nolan, Peter Blessing, Freda Gallagher, Dan O’Shea, Aidan O’Connell, Carmel Grogan, Nora Doyle, Seamus McCabe, Ellen Troy
Treasurer: Carmel Grogan
Secretary: Ellen Troy
As part of the transfer to the new bank, we were asked to put in place a more formal document around the organisation of the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme. A document was drawn up based on the Garda Guidelines for Neighbourhood Watch schemes. This was reviewed and formally adopted at the meeting.
We will have our AGM on Monday 20th in St. Brigid’s GAA club. We will plan to start at 8pm sharp so if you can be there for 7.45pm that would be appreciated.
We are in good shape financially thanks your voluntary contributions last year, and Carmel Grogan will walk us through the financial update at the AGM. We have also managed to transfer our funds from An Post to a new account at PTSB in recent months.
As a part of the account opening process, we were asked to put in place a more formal document describing the activities of the group. We have created a document which is based on the 2007 – 2011 Garda Guidelines for Neighbourhood Watch groups and we would like to review and, if approved, formally adopt at the AGM. You can review a copy of this document here – Neighbourhood Watch Scheme Details.
Thanks to all that took the time to attend our community social in the Tennis club. In the end, we had 47 neighbours and around 15 local musicians who really added to the occasion.
Particular thanks to Liam Delaney and John Murphy who led the social committee in the organisation of the event, to our street coordinators, to the local musicians who took part, to the Tennis club for facilitating and to our local photographer and neighbour Nora Doyle (https://www.noradoyle.com/) who took some wonderful photos on the night.
Thanks also to those who sponsored prizes on the night including Brian Molloy from D15 Locksmiths, Michael Flanagan and PerformanSC. Congratulations to our golf outing winners and to all that took part in this event.
Unfortunately an untimely Covid test prevented me from attending in person, but I am delighted that the event went well in my absence.
Below is a selection of the photos from the event – again with much thanks to Nora Doyle.
We had 44 neighbours in attendance with apologies from a further 11 neighbours.
Stg Rory Carey also sent his apologies that they were not in a position to attend.
The meeting was chaired by the area coordinator for the group – Lorcan Sheehan
Agenda
• Review of last AGM minutes and actions
• Financial update and report
• Review of the Neighbourhood Watch activity
• Confirmation of Area coordinator, street coordinator, secretary and treasurer roles
• Q&A with local Gardai – will be rescheduled with other NW groups
• Any other business.
2019 AGM Minutes
Due to Covid, the group has not had a General Meeting since 2019. The minutes of the 2019 AGM were read and approved.
Finance Report
NW finances were reviewed from 2019 to the end of March 2023.
Key highlights:
Addition of Beechpark Lawn neighbours in 2019 – 36 homes at €10 per household – also occasional contributions as homes changed hands.
Key expenses – purchase of batches of texts from Sendmode for text alerts – €351 – per batch of 5,000 texts
No external social or meeting costs during covid
Website costs – web hosting, wordpress for managing posts, domain renewal costs every 2 years
€149.98 remained in the account at the end of March 2023.
We proposed and it was approved to look for an additional €10 voluntary contribution per household. We received contributions of €340 on the night which is appreciated.
Neighbours can drop the contributions into their street coordinators in the coming weeks.
It was recognised that many people are using less cash for day to day expenses. The current NW funds are maintained in a post office account with a manual book. It was proposed and approved that the group would open a bank account which would have electronic banking facilities.
Review of NW activity
Since the last meeting, Beechpark Lawn was added to the NW group and they were formally welcomed to the group. There are now 179 homes within the group.
New groups have also emerged in Beechpark Avenue and Phoenix Drive and there is active collaboration between all local NW groups.
We reviewed reported activities within the group over the last few years.
Break-ins
Typically opportunistic – early to late evening – 5pm to 9pm
Looking for jewellery / cash / small items
In and out in < 5 minutes
Park car in the area – walk quickly evaluating houses that look empty
Scope out area earlier in the day – door to door traders, collectors
Thefts from cars
Typically late at night – also opportunistic
Check for open cars / smash windows
Aggressive traders – door to door
Under reported but several issues with neighbours being pressurised / scammed
Provides an excuse for unknown individuals to knock on each door
Neighbours encouraged not to engage with these traders
Bogus collectors – clothing / charity
Neighbours encouraged to be wary of clothing collections as many are bogus
Increase in each of these scams with the closure of banks and with Brexit for customs.
Additional notes:
Discussion re video doorbells – have been very useful in providing images when there has been suspicious activity.
Introduction of WhatsApp to allow neighbours communicate on security alerts
Please do not repost images of people, full registration numbers on Whatsapp groups
Agreed to examine putting together a neighbourhood social event later this year
Confirm Area Coordinator, street coordinators, treasurer, secretary
Appointment of key officers in the group:
Area Coordinator: Lorcan Sheehan
Street Coordinators:
Liam Delaney, Ruth Hogan, John Murphy
Charlie O’Connor, John Nolan, Peter Blessing
Freda Gallagher, Dan O’Shea
Aidan O’Connell
Carmel Grogan
Nora Doyle, Seamus McCabe, Ellen Troy
Treasurer: Carmel Grogan
Secretary: Ellen Troy
Tom Kennington has stepped down as street coordinator in Hadleigh Park. Aidan O’Connell has agreed to take this on.
Freda Gallagher stepped down as Secretary and Ellen Troy has agreed to take on that role. Freda will remain as a street coordinator.
Thank you to all of our officers and street coordinators and we encourage others to consider whether they would be in a position to become involved.
Community Gardai
We received apologies from Stg Rory Carey. He has offered to do a crime prevention talk later in the year in collaboration with local NW groups.
Any other business:
Social / neighbours evening – agreed to examine organising such an event
Locksmith assessment service – will look to organise in late summer
Phoenix park parking survey – encouraged neighbours to review the survey and provide their own inputs
Question raised about the pollinator friendly areas on Auburn Avenue. Mixed opinions within the group but this is expected to be mown ay the end of May.
Full moon tonight! Storm force winds! The area is filled with ghosts and goblins that have been condemned to haunt a specific place for hundreds of years (beginning to know how they feel!).
A renowned ghost, the ‘White Lady of Castleknock’ is said to appear in the vicinity of the hill at the college.
This goes back to the sixteenth century and the kidnapping of Eileen, beautiful daughter of a Wicklow Chieftain called O’Byrne, by the notorious John Tyrell, brother of the sixth Baron of Castleknock. Anticipating violence at the hands of Tyrell, Eileen is said to have bled to death, having opened her veins with a breast pin.
The ghost of Eileen, a white-robed female figure is said to move around the castle walls at night.
If anyone is aware of additional local ghosts feel free to share in response to this email or on the WhatsApp social feeds.
While circumstances will mean that we will miss our trick or treaters tonight we would like to encourage people to share pictures of their Ghastly Ghouls on the WhatsApp group or by tagging @pineshadleighnw on twitter.
We have had two examples in the area in the last month (one in the Pines this week) where intruders have tried to steal cars using scanners to capture the signal from keyless car fobs.
This time last year, we had a similar attempt that was caught on video (shared with Gardaí) and I thought that it would be useful to share some visuals on how fast this can occur. I have put together screenshots that illustrate the process which will hopefully help explain how this occurs.
The attempt, while unsuccessful on this occasion did manage to open the car and it was all over in less than 2 minutes.
Intruder arrives on bicycle and walks in with backpack 3.30am
Places backpack (receiver) in front window to pick up signal from key fob (ignores security light)
Uses handheld scanner to open car – 8 seconds after arrival
Unplugs electric charger – can see scanning device in left hand
Gets into car to try to start (unsuccessful) – expect signal not strong enough (within 30 seconds)
Moves backpack to another window on house to try to get better signal
Tries to start car again – still fails – locks car with scanner
Plugs back in charger to car – can see scanner in hand
Leaves with backpack – total time 1min 47 seconds
If you do have a keyless fob for your car (many modern cars have them) you can prevent the signal from being broadcast by keeping the key in a metal box or a pouch – known as a Faraday box / pouch – and they are available for around €20 online. Sample picture below.
As the evenings and the nights get longer, the opportunities for burglars are greater. Not that we are going far but make sure that you light up the house if you are heading out and put on your alarm when you are in for the night.
This evening a group from the Neighbourhood Watch attended the Garda Crime Prevention meeting in Castleknock Community College. It was hosted by Sergeant Rory Carey who heads the Community Policing team and was addressed by Superintendent Liam Carolan who is responsible for the Gardaí in K District – Blanchardstown, Cabra and Finglas and Sergeant Vincent Connolly who is the Crime Prevention Officer for the district.
Update on Crime Statistics:
Acknowledged that there was a spike in burglaries in Castleknock in December with 19 burglaries recorded in Castleknock and 4 in the Carpenterstown area from 1st December to 12th January. Included 4 in one evening in College Wood. One aggrevated burglary in that period of time.
Significant increase in Garda resources dedicated to burglary patrols in Castleknock since start of Jan. Covered by overtime and not sustainable in long term but seen as necessary to address the current issues. 48 checkpoints and 164 proactive patrols since Jan 1st.
Levels of burglary reported in media and social media is exagerated – not withstanding the fact that there has been a spike.
No burglary in the area since Jan 12th and previous to that was one on the 8th Jan. Not declaring victory yet but progress is being made and Gardai continuing to patrol the area.
Several detections and people charged in Castleknock Manor, Park View, Castleknock road.
Disrupted others with past records and moved them on from the area.
Cooperation from the public and neighbourhood watch groups is very welcome but need to be careful with the information shared on social media.
Not all of it is accurate
Do not share photos of people or full reg plates – may be innocent and could jeopardise court case. Also one case in South East where it triggered a lawsuit for defamation.
Sometimes can spread fear rather than improve security
Call the Gardai – 999 – if you see something unusual
Blanchardstown is the busiest Garda station in the country and the K District serves 175,000 people. They have 365 Gardaí based in the station across multiple units – approx 15 in the community policing unit plus another 20 in a community action team (K-CATs) that can be deployed in high priority areas.
Could certainly use additional resources and would like to provide additional support to community policing if the resources allowed. Careful not to get into a political discussion during the meeting but additional resourcing would allow a higher level of community policing support on an ongoing basis.
Good presentation from Sgt Connolly of the crime prevention group. We have covered many of these points before but it was good to get the reminder.
Primary access points – Front door, Back door, open windows
Most likely between 5pm and 10pm
Opportunistic burglars are most common – looking for Jewelery and Cash and want to be in and out within 3 minutes
Best exercise – go outside your home and pretend that you are locked out. See all the potential entry areas to your home.
Consider high quality locks on doors and windows. Use locksmiths that are PSA registered. If you have an alarm – use it. Keep perimiter alarm on at night.
Avoid leaving climing aids – bins etc next to windows. Lock your shed – access to tools. Side gate – best if flush ith the front of the house – curved top.
Light up – particularly on Winter evenings
CCTV – useful if there is good quality and many options now available but very often you will only get a silouette. Smart switches other products that can remotely control lights.
Cut back trees and shrubs to remove cover for would-be burglars.
Do not engage with strangers – selling goods and services, collecting
If you do hear an intruder – stay safe – call 999 – do not engage
Property marking – photo, register and mark goods – including jewellery.
The Q&A was broadly supportive of the Gardai. Recognised that the current resource level is unsustainable in the longer term but hope that the peak of activity will pass. Given the timing we had many of our local representatives at the meeting. No harm in reminding them that more resources for the Gardai are needed to increase the level of resources into the future.
I would like to thank the Gardai for this open and informative event. It was good to have the facts delivered in a non political manner and context. We have a positive relationship with the community policing team through Garda Alex McDermott and Sgt Rory Carey, and we can build on that for the future.
If you do see something unusual the first point of contact should be the Gardaí on 999.
If others have additional observations from the meeting, let me know and we will share them.
Over the last couple of months we have seen a slight increase in attempted burglaries in the area and while we are still in a very safe area, it is worth reminding ourselves of some actions that we can take to secure our properties.
Front and rear garden:
If access points to your home are visible from the road and to your neighbours, you give less cover to potential intruders as they try to enter. Consider whether cutting back some trees / planting would reduce potential cover without losing your privacy in your home.
Sensor lights front and back – reduces cover of darkness for potential intruders.
Keep your vehicles locked and do not leave coats / bags visible in them
Side gates – tall enough to make access difficult – locked and avoid leaving bins or other potential steps close to the gates.
Sheds – contain valuables and several tools that can be used to facilitate a burglary – keep sheds locked with a sturdy padlock or similar. There has also been a noted increase in thefts of tools from sheds over the last 12 months in the greater Dublin area.
Bikes – keep locked and secured. Take note of serial numbers and take photos of bikes in case of loss.
Doors and Windows:
Secure locks and chubb type locks on doors. Many cylinder locks are prone to what is known as lock snapping which allows an intruder use a vice grip or similar implement to attach to the lock and snap the cylinder within seconds. There are anti-snap cylinders available which are very reasonable to install and which reduce this risk significantly. Some detail on lock snapping is available on this UK locksmiths website
Patio doors can be particularly vulnerable to being forced open. There are a number of innovative lock products (Patlock is one) that addresses this vulnerability.
Windows – an open window is very attractive for your opportunistic burglar. Even upstairs windows – particularly if over a balcony or a low roof – present an opportunity. Window locks are also available and alarm sensors on windows will also detect any attempts to break a window.
Alarms:
It may be stating the obvious but Alarms are at their most effective when they are switched on. The best advise is to keep your alarm on when you are in the home and especially at night. Do some research on your alarm ‘Zones’ as this will give you an indication in the case of an alarm activation.
Monitored alarms will send alerts to nominated keyholders in the case of activation. Neighbours are also asked to pay attention to alarm activations and to alert authorities if they see something suspicious.
If alarms are faulty and frequently activate it becomes less likely that people will pay attention to the activation it is in your interest to keep the alarm serviced and working well.
CCTV
There are many CCTV options available and most reputable alarm companies will provide advice on what would be most suitable for your needs.
With the advances in technology there is an increasing range of options available including video doorbell CCTV cameras from companies such as Ring and Nest that link to the cloud via your broadband connection.
In all cases with CCTV it is important to respect the privacy of neighbours in positioning cameras and coverage.
Keys:
Do not store keys close to your front door as ‘fishing’ for keys through letterboxes is a common way to gain access.
As noted in previous updates – keep keyless fobs for modern cars in a tin box to prevent signals being captured and boosted.
Visitors / Contractors:
Do not engage with unknown tradespeople, clothes collectors or charity collectors that call to your door. Engaging with them:
Gives them access to your home directly or through the use of distraction burglaries.
Gives them license to be in our area and gives them visibility into which homes are empty.
Risks being caught up with uninsured or unprofessional trades.
We have found several times over the last 48 months that within a week of door to door trades people entering our area, we have had attempted thefts from cars and from houses.
Trusted trades:
We have compiled a list of trusted trades that have been recommended by our neighbours for our neighbours. This list is available here.
As you are considering your security requirements, give some thought to engaging with these trades to advise you on what is best for your needs. Many will offer a free – no obligations consultation.
In considering your security requirements we would recommend that you take a balanced view. A little knowledge of what is happening in the wider community can increase awareness but it is not intended to alarm. We still live in a safe area and we are lucky to have a very active neighbourhood and community spirit..
With cooperation from our neighbours, we can make the area less attractive for criminals and the most effective way to do that is to keep an eye out for each other and to report any items that are suspicious to the Gardaí and our neighbourhood watch.
If you do see something suspicious, the first point of contact should be the Gardaí on 999 or 01 6667000.
Pines, Hadleigh & Beechpark Neighbourhood Watch 
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