Cork councillor calls for balaclava ban in city parks

Labour Councillor Peter Horgan has urged Cork City Council to introduce a bylaw banning balaclavas in public parks after a series of anti‑social incidents.

Horgan, who represents Cork City South East, told Newstalk Breakfast that over the summer he observed young men wearing balaclavas committing offences such as burning swings, dragging wheelie bins into park centres and setting them alight in broad daylight.

He argued that the face coverings enable intimidation and make it harder for Gardaí to intervene, noting that officers currently lack the power to demand removal of a balaclava unless a crime is in progress.

The councillor’s motion does not target all face coverings but seeks to prohibit concealment of the face “to shield it from identification” when used to facilitate criminal or anti‑social behaviour in parks.

Horgan acknowledged that a ban is not a “silver bullet” but said it would give Gardaí an additional tool, while stressing that civil liberties must still be protected.

Source: Newstalk. Photo: Sergey Okhrymenko / Pexels.