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By Michelle Crean

There’s widespread shock and disgust after racist stickers were discovered stuck to electricity poles along the Muckross Road in recent days.

The words ‘YOU’LL NEVER BE IRISH’ were written in large capital letters across the top of the notebook sized sticker with an image with five non-nationals resembling Muslims, Asians and Romanians, with a sign pointing towards the Convention Centre.

The discovery was made by hotel staff working in the area and it was immediately reported to Killarney Gardai who are now appealing to the public for information on the incident.

“We are appealing to anyone who may know something to let us know,” a Garda spokesperson told the Killarney Advertiser.

“Someone must know something. They were put up in a number of places and someone may have witnessed that or know where they were printed.”

Disgusted

Mayor of Kerry, Niall Kelleher, has this morning condemned the incident saying he is disgusted and enraged.

“Stickers placed on poles in public areas are racist and xenophobic, and in my opinion, they represent an incitement to hatred,” he said.

“They have no place and are not welcome in our town or in our communities. I call on all public representatives to denounce this action by cowardly, faceless individuals and I call on the Gardaí to do everything within their power to fully investigate this act and to bring the culprit(s) to justice.

“I would appeal to anybody that might know anything about this dastardly act to contact An Garda Siochana with any information that might be of assistance in their investigation.

As similar increases of this type of criminal act have been witnessed recently in other areas, I support the calls on Government by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties for legislation to the reviewed and strengthened in this area.”

Completely Unacceptable

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce also voiced their disgust saying they condemn the act in the strongest possible terms.

“Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the mindless and completely unacceptable actions of whoever was responsible for placing racist, vulgar and pitiful slogans in a public area, under the cover of darkness, on Tuesday morning,” they said.

“Such dreadful behaviour has no place in the progressive and successful town of Killarney where there is a warm, genuine and universal welcome for everybody. We appreciate the enormous contribution made by people from overseas, over several decades, who come to live and work alongside us and become our neighbours, friends and colleagues and our children’s friends, classmates and teammates. Racism is an ugly weapon that must have no place in society and as long as mature, decent and responsible people stand up against the uneducated bullies that engage in such unacceptable acts, then they will have far more limited opportunities to spread their hatred. The Chamber’s steadfast view is that there must be absolutely no tolerance for discrimination, prejudice, insult or antagonism directed at anybody because they are of a different race or ethnicity.”

Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce would encourage anybody with any information that might help to identify those responsible for this cowardly act to contact Killarney Garda Station on 064-6631222 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.