Hangups & Hangouts 5/6/08

I caught the tail end of`this story on liveline, and had to go home to research what happened on the net. The language used was almost akin to a fattwa, a poorly written article designed to rouse the confused minds of the house of prayer brigade, or other zealots.

What annoyed me most was the hurtful, emotive language with paedophilia undertones that was used. Would there have been the same outrage if this park had been full of men & women having sex, or perhaps if it was a lesbian orgy, the mayo echo might even have gratuitously advertised it, almost as a castlebar attraction spot?

I'm glad this sad attempt at rabble raising seems to have imploded. No one wants to have their chosen picnic area covered in condoms or to be deafened by grunts and groans, and that is not what I am trying to excuse. There was no attempt at all to provide a fairer more impartial view, something along the lines of "isn't it sad that we live in such a homophobic society that even closeted married gay men, with children, will risk so much for a quick shag".

Likewise there was no debate on irish views of sex, or admonishment of the vigilante gangs of youth. I almost expected the tirade to end with advice for the "perverts" to pray for forgiveness for their evil lifestyles. I hope we are entering a more sexually enlightened, open and accepting age, and any attempt to drag us back into an age of denial should be actively fought against.

People are sexual, and shock of shocks, can even have casual sex with no need to know the life story of their sex partner(s). I think a large part of it is that some men, seem to be quite drunk on testosterone, and end up thinking with the wrong head!

Sexuality constitutes a huge part of a personality, whether you express it or repress it ( I often joke that if reincarnation exists, then I am coming back as a prostitute). Some people are into men or women , some ( greedily) both, and some who would prefer a nice cup of tea.

Speaking as an enforced celibate (when you use a wheelchair, you are considered asexual), I am very pro people being in full control over their own bodies, and squeezing as much fun out of them for as long as they can. I will get off my soapbox now and let you read the article which annoyed me so.

"Hundreds of gay perverts gather at this carpark at Lough Lannagh in Castlebar every week. When they find a partner, most make their way across the bridge and up the pathway to the left. In recent months, the men have begun arriving in the daytime, propositioning passers-by, including teenagers, for casual sex. Over the past two years, the carpark at Lough Lannagh has become a magnet for men looking for such encounters, and their actions are making the area a nogo area for ordinary visitors and walkers.

Many of our readers have contacted the Mayo Echo in recent times to complain about the activities of these perverts, and following an in-depth investigation, it can be revealed that the situation is much more worrying than anyone imagined. Initially, the practice of cruising by men was confined to night-time, and the area it was taking place was usually quiet enough during these hours.

However, over the past six months the practice has now spread to the daytime, when children are around, and many more members of the public are around. The perverts are approaching unaccompanied men and teenage boys who are walking, fishing, or visiting the local graves. Numerous complaints have been made to local Gardai in relation to unsolicited approaches for sex.

Complaints have also been made about men having sex in public places, around the Lough Lannagh area. Walkers have come across men in various stages of undress, in different positions. The Mayo Echo has been carrying out an investigation of the situation at Lough Lannagh over quite some time following complaints from our readers. The first thing to strike any observer is just how busy the area is. Many people visit the area to eat their lunch, read the newspaper, go for a stroll, feed the ducks, or just have a daytime snooze in their car.

In fact, it should be stressed that the majority of people who visit Lough Lannagh are doing so for completely innocent reasons. However, as you spend more time in the area, you begin to notice that there is a hidden world. Over the course of the past week, up to fifty men visited the area looking for other gay men, every day. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the busiest, when upwards of one hundred and seventy men will visit the area, right throughout the day.

The vast majority will arrive by car, although an increasing number are arriving by foot, leaving their vehicles elsewhere in the town. Most of the men do not know their partner before they meet up, and do not stay in touch after the encounter. The men follow the same sort of procedure to meet other men. They arrive by car or on foot, and walk about the immediate area. They say hello in a casual nature to other passing men , and if the other men engage them in conversation, they make their way to a remote spot and the sexual activity begins.

They may also leave the area in one of their cars, although many refuse to do so as this can prove much more dangerous than staying in the locality. Most of the men make their way to one of three spots in the hedge-growth around the area. The most popular spot is up in a corner alongside the river. Any sounds are drowned out by the noise of the river. The ground at these spots is strewn with discarded condoms and tissues.

Worryingly, at the busier spot, there are pages from young boys' magazines strewn in the area. There is a well-worn branch where the men hold onto whilst engaging in their business. The most worrying aspect of the whole situation is that this spot overlooks a children's playground, and the noise of children playing can clearly be heard from just 50 metres away, whilst these man take part in their perversion.

Unbeknown to parents who are minding their children playing on the swings or the slide, drooling perverts are getting off whilst watching their children. Some men visit the area regularly, many times a day. The same faces and vehicles can be seen acting suspiciously almost every day. Men also travel from as far away as Sligo, Galway, Roscommon and even Donegal to visit the area.

However, as word has spread about the practice, groups of young men have begun visiting the area to launch attacks on the perverts. Gardai have also been mounting undercover operations to detect the activities, and the Mayo Echo understands that a number of men have been arrested for crimes connected with the scandal over recent weeks. However, the Gardai operation is both ineffective, and barely discreet.

Many of the men who use the area are already aware of the vehicles used by the Gardai. The undercover operations tend to be mounted at night, so the men increasingly visit the area in the daytime. Within the first day of watching the area, the Mayo Echo was able to detect the Gardai undercover operation. On one occasion, the Mayo Echo came across two men in a sexual embrace in a public place, just a few metres from the car park, at 4.30pm in the day. Whilst these men were at this, a number of very young children were feeding the ducks with their parents, only 40 feet away.

The Mayo Echo managed to speak with a small number of the men who are taking part in the practice. Some complained that it was getting more dangerous. Many of the men have been attacked and robbed whilst taking part in the activity. Naturally, they do not report these attacks to the Gardai. They say they carry out the activity for the thrill of it, whilst some say they are married with children.

The Mayo Echo would like to give the men engaged in these practices fair warning. We shall be publishing pictures of the men engaged in these activities. It is completely unacceptable that ordinary decent people cannot enjoy a stroll with their children without coming across such disgusting scenes.

These going ons are attracting criminals into the area, and are putting our children at risk. The acts are also putting the men's own health at risk. Innocent teenagers are now being propositioned for sex by older men, and this might lead to sexual attacks in the future. But most worrying of all is that these perverts are engaging in these activities whilst overlooking children playing in the nearby playground, and also looking at images of young boys from magazines strewn about the area. Extremely worrying, a boys' magazine is discarded in the den where the men gather."