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Pee patrol planned to prevent Irish 'urine town'

By
KENNETH HAYNES
,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Thursday, November 5, 2009, 1:48 PM
Updated Saturday, November 7, 2009, 9:17 AM

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Pee patrol planned to prevent Irish 'urine town' | Irish News | IrishCentral




Read more: County Clare, Criminal Sentencing and Punishment, Prisons, Ennis (County Clare), Local Politics, Politics
Between the spitting at traffic wardens and the peeing in public, Ennis is awash with bodily fluids.

Podcast / The hilarious Get The Craic! team takes on this 'wee problem' / Click here to play

Public urination has got to such an unacceptable level in the town of Ennis that one local councilor has proposed that two urine wardens should be employed to patrol the town and prevent inebriated people from peeing on the town.

Councilor Paul O’Shea argues that the two wardens could provide a valuable service to the public by catching people who feel the need to relieve themselves in public.

"The wardens would then notify the gardai (Irish police) and on-the-spot fines would be issued," he said.

However, other councilors in the town argue that becoming a urine warden may not be the safest career choice.

"If our traffic wardens are getting spat at during the day in carrying out their duty, I believe any urine warden would be in a lot of danger at 3am," said Councilor Frankie Nealon.

The good folk of Clare who can’t control themselves have inspired one store owner to install a machine that shocks people who decide to spend a penny in his front window.

A sign on the store reads: "electric current in operation, urinate at your own peril".

This rather innovative action was taken by businessman John O'Connor to stop the flow of urine on his shopfront, as the smell the day after the night before, so to speak, was driving away business.

One person has already been zapped by the gadget, and O’Connor, who runs a traditional music store, has also vowed to plaster photos of those who pee on his shop in public.

Another councilor in the Clare capital, Brian Meaney of the Green Party, has proposed a "name-and-shame" website for those who feel the need to go to the toilet in the street.

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Pee patrol planned to prevent Irish 'urine town' | Irish News | IrishCentral


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Posted by jacersisityourself on Nov 13, 2009, 03:06 PM EST
Plasticpaddy is right – urine is sterile and used to be used to treat skin ailments, especially in remote parts of the Alps (they used to drink it too, for medicinal reasons - said to add years to a yodeller's life). And who can forget that dramatic episode of ‘Friends’ when Chandler and Joey manly treated Monica’s jellyfish sting?? Just today BBC news reported on the Head Gardener at Wimpole Hall, a tourist garden centre in Cambridgeshire, England, encouraging his fellow-gardeners to pee on a 10ft long pee-bale installed for the purpose. It activates the composting process, you see... However, the Head Gardener assures everyone that they are only allowed to pee when visitors are not around as they “didn’t want to scare the public”.
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Posted by Chicago1 on Nov 09, 2009, 02:35 PM EST
While in Ireland last year, I saw a news program on the late night patrols of the police/paramedics/street cleaners(I believe Dublin/Galway and small town in Mayo). At around midnight, police/medics start patroling streets for drunks who have collapsed in the streets, doorways, alleys, etc. They pick them up and deliver them to hospitals. Certain hospitals had low cots set up (can't use reg. beds cuz they hurt themselves falling off)to keep an eye on them until ready to go home. The hallways were lined with drunks.This would continue until about 2:30-3:00am. Next, out come the street cleaners. They wash down streets, doorways and sidewalks to remove vomit, urine and alcohol. They said it had to be done or the stench the next day would be unbearable. The news team interviewed some of the drinkers, many were woman 30 , all said their goal was to get drunk. Hospital staff said most of those brought in were women. It was so pathetic. The doctors spoke of the many health dangers. I don't remember the #s but lines start forming very early Sat/Sun. of women waiting to get the morning after pill because they had unprotectd sex w/ stranger or couldn't remember if they had sex.
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Posted by plasticpaddy on Nov 09, 2009, 11:05 AM EST
Urine is sterile, so how disgusting can it be?
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Posted by Gemini42 on Nov 08, 2009, 12:12 AM EST
I think that public weeing is disgusting...! Are there no public rest rooms or lavatories ?? Not very dignified or respectfull............
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Posted by kjohns2001 on Nov 07, 2009, 07:22 AM EST
Perhaps as an American it is not my place to comment on an Irish problem, however, it seems to me that if people are using the streets then there is an obvious lack of public facilities. Putting in simple (and cheap!) trough urinals in the most affected areas would do more to solve the problem than using any type of pee patrol.
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Posted by Madeleine on Nov 07, 2009, 03:51 AM EST
This is the funniest thing I ever read! I was going to suggest portapotties but some one beat me to it, then all you would need is a couple of brave souls with a clothespin on their nose willing to clean it up in the morning. They would probably lift their hind leg to the side of it anyway.


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