Litter pickers in Offaly make worrying discovery behind busy shopping centre

Litter pickers in Edenderry, Co Offaly, made a worrying discovery during a recent clean-up behind the Dunnes Stores Shopping Centre in the town.

The Edenderry Tidy Towns group carry out regular clean-ups around the town and last weekend descended on the busy shopping centre, a known late night hangout for groups of teenagers.

Some people called for gates and a boundary to lock up the area at night after seeing the Edenderry Tidy Towns post which included a number of concerning photographs.

The group revealed that they picked up a large bag and a half of rubbish, including drinks cans and takeaway food packaging, but they also uncovered 41 fast gas canisters. 

Also referred to as laughing gas, or hippy crack, nitrous oxide is typically inhaled from canisters or balloons to produce a short term high.

Nitrous oxide has a legitimate use for pain relief in medical and dental settings but an RTE report from late last year uncovered a major link to organised crime gangs.

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Revenue and Customs officials told Prime Time it is being brought into Ireland at scale by organised crime gangs and used nationwide.

Over 1,000 large canisters of the gas are being seized in Ireland every week, mostly at Dublin and Rosslare ports.

On the same Prime Time programme, the hugely damaging impacts of nitrous oxide inhaled irresponsibly outside controlled settings were raised by consultant neurologist Dr Hugh Kearney.

He explained that inhaling nitrous oxide makes users feel light-headed but can also cause headache and loss of consciousness. Not only that, it can also cause numbness in the hands and feet or damage to the spinal cord, referred to as neurotoxicity. In severe cases, people can be left in a wheelchair.

Dr Kearney said he is seeing two to three cases of neurotoxicity a week. 

"In excess levels, nitrous oxide blocks B12, which is essential for producing myelin, the fatty substance that coats nerves. Without it, nerves are exposed and damaged," he explained on the RTE show in December 2025.

"If this area of the spinal cord is injured, the person cannot tell where their limbs are in space. They may need to be bed-bound or use a wheelchair," he added.

ABOVE: The area behind Dunnes was littered with rubbish and fast gas canisters

Often, these gas canisters are bought and sold by teenagers on messaging apps like Whatsapp or Instagram. 

The discovery and littering in Edenderry prompted concern and anger from locals on social media. 

One woman said: "It is so disgusting. I don’t understand how people can care so little. It is so discouraging. I also don’t understand why the government doesn’t provide rubbish removal and removal of bulky waste as a public service like other countries do.

"And why it is so hard to get the local council to respond to requests to remove dumping or install cameras in certain places. It’s like they hope one will just give up if they ignore you long enough."