Call for action over anti-social behaviour in Athy estates
Athy Community House
INITIATVES to support the Woodstock area of Athy were raised in light of anti-social behaviour at a recent meeting of the local municipal district
The re-establishment of the Woodstock Forum was sought by local councillor Aoife Breslin who also sought the council "invites all residents and all agencies working in the Woodstock area of Athy to participate in the forum".
Cllr Breslin said could not tolerate a situation where elderly people wished to move out of the area due to anti-social behaviour.
A report issued in response did not support re-establishment of the forum.
It stated: “There are several formal processes and an increased range of agencies in place, actively supporting the community from a needs-based approach.”
Kildare County Council’s community department invested almost €25,000 in the final quarter of 2025 in improvements to the location of Athy Community House, in collaboration with the local authority’s housing department.
Athy Community House is located in the Townspark area of Athy and operates as a community centre for non-commercial local community groups.
They also plan to invest a further €50,000 in 2026 to improve play facilities at the location, in a joint project between the parks and community departments.
The response from Tony Shanhan, senior executive officer, further detailed that a Community Safety Partnership has been formed for the county. The partnership is made of 27 members which includes representation from councillors, Gardaí, local residents, state agencies and voluntary representatives.
It further detailed that the partnership will have its first formal meeting on 12 March, and outlined “its remit includes developing coordinated interagency approaches to community safety. This is the appropriate statutory forum to identify and quantify issues, and to agree best-practice, sustainable inter-agency approaches to address anti-social activity, promote pro-social activity and promote safety.”
Mr Shanahan further said that “an extremely active Athy inter-agency operational group” has developed in Athy over the last five years. The group has “almost 50 staff representing statutory, non-statutory and community based agencies, interacting weekly and meeting quarterly, to share information, pool resources and develop pro-social activities and jointly funded programmes. This group also comprises Garda representation.”
The report added: “None of the referenced council employed staff active in community-work in this area and regularly engaging with residents has received a request to re-form the Woodstock Forum and it is not proposed to replace existing structures and new structures.”
The Woodstock Forum was an organisation that was set up in 2013 in response to issues in the area and is believed to have operated up until 2019. It involved Gardaí, councillors and community representatives from the area. Cllr Breslin was involved in the forum.
Cathaoirleach Ivan Keatley, who also attended meetings of the forum, seconded cllr Breslin’s motion.
Cllr Breslin noted several problems in the area. She said that the local playground has been damaged and there is “a huge issue of anti-social behaviour”. She said that there is are issues with rubbish being burned and local youths intimidating people. She also noted collapse of the local soccer club, and people not using the football pitch because of issues in the area.
Cllr Breslin said that the Woodstock forum “worked extremely well”.
Cllr Keatley rued the collapse of the soccer club and noted the benefits of having such an amenity in the area.
Cllr Veralouise Behan said that anti-social behaviour in the area at night time is “very difficult to live with” for locals.
She mentioned that she had the area in mind when she decided to include an item on the meeting agenda requesting that the council invite Athy Fire Service “to give an overview of their work to the municipal district.”
Mr Shanahan said that he could not create a formal forum. He indicated that community action now comes from government legislation and that to formally establish a forum in the way cllr Breslin wants “is not appropriate”, with there being no guidelines on how to go about such a measure.
Cllr Breslin accepted that Mr Shanahan was constrained, indicating that she did not want a row but would keep pressing for a solution. She said that she could accept a situation where older people are looking to move out because of issues in the area.
