Teens cause drunken mayhem in coastal village for Calves Week.

A GARDA in Schull was hospitalised for an injury he sustained while trying to conduct a drugs search during Calves Week.

There was a strong garda presence in the coastal village for the week and into the weekend, which drew large crowds for the Schull Regatta.

There were reports of drunken teenagers, drug taking and litter, with some visitors abandoning tents and sleeping bags after camping illegally in fields.

There were several 999 calls for ambulances to deal with minors who had consumed too much alcohol or taken illegal drugs with one source describing Schull as ‘a supermarket for illicit drug activities’.

One local garda was hospitalised during the course of an operation in the village last Thursday night. A garda spokesperson confirmed to The Southern Star that the officer received injuries believed to have been caused by a fall.

‘He was conveyed to Cork University Hospital for medical treatment. Welfare supports have been made available to the member by local management.’

The spokesperson added that investigations are ongoing as to what led to the garda to receive his injuries but it is understood that it may have occurred during the course of a drugs search of a young person.

The local community and council workers were left to clean up the mess left behind, with crowds of teenagers congregating at the pier – dubbed locally as ‘Club Piero’ - late at night and openly drinking.

Cork County Council staff were out at 5.30am throughout last weekend cleaning up the broken glass and rubbish left behind.

It was down to council staff and Schull’s Litter Angels to clean the large amounts of broken glass and other rubbish as well as removing some of the abandoned tents.

Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) thanked council staff and the Little Angels and said their hard work is very much appreciated.

She said that while Calves Week and Schull Regatta were both very successful, it was disappointing to see the ‘disrespect’ some youngsters showed to their lovely village.

Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire) said it was exceptionally busy in Schull over the weekend and noted that there is always a small percentage of any crowd who cause a mess and spoil it for everyone. He also thanked both the council staff and Little Angels for ensuring the village was cleaned each morning.

One commentator online praised the work of council staff and volunteers but said that those coming into Schull would want ‘to up their game’, adding: ‘They are not children and should respect the place.’