Man leaves note at Galway beach crime scene apologising for his actions

The peculiar break-in was among a number of incidents involving criminal or antisocial behaviour that were reported by lifeguards in Salthill during the bathing season last year.

Others included defiant nudists who became abusive when asked to put clothes on, a drunk individual who stole two lifebuoys and another man’s pants, and an intoxicated teenager who had to be removed from a beach by an ambulance.

Gardaí were also called in response to a “large disturbance” when a fight broke out on Ladies Beach on July 12, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The beaches in Salthill are comprised of four distinct bathing areas: Ladies Beach, Grattan Beach, Blackrock, and Palmers Beach.

The break-in occurred at the lifeguard hut at Grattan Beach on July 1, and was discovered when one of the lifeguards arrived for work around 10:40am to find that the door had been “kicked in”.

They reported that a note had been left by the perpetrator, providing an apology and the reason why they had broken into the hut. The lifeguard found alcohol and cigarette butts at the scene.

The gear contained in the hut was scattered and a phone was missing, according to the lifeguard’s report. The incident was reported to Gardaí and an investigation team attended the scene, removing items for DNA testing.

In a separate incident at Grattan Beach, lifeguards observed a man “being disorderly” around 4:50pm on July 10. He stole two lifebuoys, was verbally abusive, and was indecently exposing himself to the public, according to the report.

The indecent exposure ended when he stole another man’s pants and put them on, however, but the havoc continued as he proceeded to “pilfer various items” from other members of the public on the beach.

Gardaí were called at 6:09pm and arrived at the scene seven minutes later, when they removed the man from the area.

At Ladies Beach, a “drunk teen” required first aid while lifeguards waited for an ambulance to arrive on July 12, and gardaí attended the scene later the same day to deal with a “large disturbance” caused by people fighting.

On July 24, a “nude male” was asked to put clothes on at an area of the beach known as the crab pool around 1:40pm. He refused and became verbally abusive. Gardaí were called by the lifeguards on duty.

On a single day in August, lifeguards at Ladies Beach reported telling bathers not to enter the water while “extremely intoxicated” 25 times, advising them not to bring drinks into the water 50 times, and warning against “horseplay” 20 times.

At Blackrock, a naked member of the public who was instructed to cover themselves refused to comply on July 5, while lifeguards also had to respond to a complaint about a man “indecently exposing himself” in the changing area on August 1.

At Palmers Beach on July 8, a woman in her forties was observed drunk and stumbling around 12:30pm. She collapsed on the beach but remained conscious, and proceeded to disturb fellow bathers.

She refused to leave and was reported to gardaí. When she defied their instruction to leave the area, she was placed in a Garda van and taken from the scene, according to the lifeguards’ incident report.

The official bathing season in Ireland runs from June 1 to September 15 each year, during which time local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actively monitor water quality, tides, and safety information.