Gardai break up large house party in Limerick estate

GARDAÍ have confirmed they attended the scene of a crowded house party in the College Court area of Castletroy earlier this week.

Hundreds of students were said to have attended the house party which involved an outdoor DJ and students dancing on rooftops in the estate close to the University of Limerick.

In reply to a query from Limerick Live, a statement from An Garda Síochana read: “Gardaí attended the scene of an apparent house party that was occurring in College Court, Limerick at approximately 1.30am on Tuesday, September 27 2022.”

The statement added: “This party was dispersed and the occupants of the house were spoken to.” 

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In a video posted to social media, people can be seen with lit flares and crowds can be seen dancing outside.

Another clip shows gardaí moving through the crowd in an attempt to shut down the party.

College Court has been known as a hotspot for house parties for many years with party goers lining the streets of the estate during busy weeks such as Freshers Week and Charity (RAG) Week.

This year marked the first time since the Covid pandemic that students have been on campus full time.

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Labour Councillor for Limerick City East Elena Secas believes that more needs to be done to avoid house parties such as the one in College Court as they disturb residents in the local area.

“UL have been doing a lot of work on engagement with students and local residents recently to try and avoid these house parties from taking place. I have been out with members of UL in the last couple of weeks to raise awareness on the issue.

“Students need to take more responsibility as these are residential areas and they need to keep that in mind,” Cllr Secas said.

UL representatives have been working closely with stakeholders in the community, including students living off-campus, residents’ associations, Limerick City and County Council and An Garda Síochana, to promote good relations between ‘town and gown’.

“UL has appointed a Student Community Engagement Liaison Officer (SCELO) who is in daily contact with the Gardai and residents’ associations and visits student houses to investigate complaints and where appropriate, to instigate disciplinary action,” a statement from UL read.