35 years since Sgt Brendan Dunne and gardai headed from Julianstown to Laytown station
LOOKING through our files, I see that Laytown garda station is celebrating 35 years this year - and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a sign of a lack of progress for policing in the East Meath area.
The station is in Beach Park and back then was down to serve Bettystown, Laytown, Julianstown, Gormanston, Stamullen and Clonalvy.
The station cost €65,000 to build at the time and includeed a sergeant’s house beside it.
But it didn’t mean that East Meath was getting a new station, it just replaced the closed one in Julianstown.
The new station followed years of campaigning by locals for a greater garda presence in the district.
It was a speedy turnover fron Julianstown, with Sgt Brendan Dunne along with Gardai, Philip Tivnan, Charlie Francis and Tom Horgan on duty in Julianstown one Friday morning and by that night, they had packed up and headed to the seaside!
The Julianstown station was famous as a speed trap as it was on the main road.
Back then, there was some disquiet about its closure as the 500 or so locals had to go to Laytown to sign on.
Garda numbers improved shortly after the Laytown move, Michael Kavanagh arriving from Stepaside station.
Interesting to note is that Mr McDaniel, a building contractor from Mosstown, Dunleer, built the station.