A Meath farmer has hit out at what he sees as the lack of respect of people who continually trespass on his land, ignoring signs stating that it is a working farm and private property.
Mark Delany from Ashbawn, Corballis, Julianstown, said that the latest incident involved a woman and child going up the farm avenue to the garden which is to the front of the house where his parents are cocooning and feeding carrots to the horses.
“It’s unbelievable. We can’t get over people’s lack of respect for other people’s property,” he said.
“Over the last couple of weeks, I caught lads cycling down a hill in a field of spuds even though there were signs on the gate saying ‘Private property, no trespassing’,” Mark stated.
“Some of the signs I have put up have been pulled down but I have put up new ones,” he said.
The day after the incident in the spuds field, I came across a lad jumping on haylage. Another case involved a lad climbing a 6ft bank and going over three fences to a field of heifers. He said he was giving them grass. His girlfriend was recording him on her phone from the road.
“In the past, we have had lads going through crops. Some think it’s a game and want to be chased,” the Meath farmer said.
“We also have had a number of people walking their dogs, some of whom have been quite aggressive. My uncle has sheep with young lambs and one lad got very aggressive when my uncle asked him to leave.”
‘Lot busier since lockdown’
Mark said he didn’t mind people making mistakes.
“However, if they have to cross three fences to get in, it should twig with them. I have also questioned people about being not from the same family and outside the 2km zone as part of lockdown. I wonder what their parents are doing. There are plenty of amenities in this area without having to go onto farms.”
A number of other farmers have said they have experienced a similar lack of respect for private property.
In Moycullen, Co. Galway, Julie Regan who farms with her husband James near the village, which is approximately 10 miles from Galway city, has seen an increase in the number of people on their narrow road where neighbours are cocooning.
“It has got a lot busier since lockdown and we have concerns due to sheep lambing and cows calving as well as bulls in fields, machinery on the move and the use of weedkiller,” said Julie.
Last Saturday which was very warm, we saw a couple with a blanket go down our little winding road, into where our neighbours live. They seemed to be looking for a sunbathing spot. When we followed them, we were greeted with hostility and they said that we didn’t have signs up. My husband asked them if they had signs outside their property.
“Another incident involved a car parked down our boreen, with the family and their dog getting out. My husband had to tell them that it is private property and that we are concerned about the spread of Covid-19,” Julie said.
“Recently our neighbour rang to tell us that a man had let his dog run through one of the fields. We are also worried that gates are being left open and animals being unsettled.
“We have ongoing problems with people coming out here and it’s worse at weekends. Traffic has been increasing. We are in the process of getting signs. We have found some people to be very cheeky and hostile. We are busy enough without having to deal with this. It’s not nice,” Julie said.