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A new survey has revealed which county is the bravest and, more importantly, which county has the most wusses…

By Brian Moss

We all hope that when faced with dangerous situations we would have the courage and metal to stand up and be counted. Well it appears a lot could depend on the county you hail from.

Today's Irish Daily Star reports the results of the AA’s nationwide neighbourhood watch survey and it’s the Breffini County (that’s Cavan in case you don’t know) who are the bravest. A very respectable 13.5 per cent of Cavan respondents claim they would intervene to prevent crime. Things aren’t so great for another blue and white county with Laois at the bottom of the pile with just 4.9 per cent.

Dublin are the second-least likely to get involved, with just 6.4 per cent claiming they would step in, while the likes of Longford, Carlow, Offaly, Kilkenny, Mayo, Westmeath, Roscommon and Meath are all above the one-in-10 mark and near the top of the list for bravery.

On a national scale one in 12 of us claim to be prepared to 'have-a-go'. A high number of respondents replied positively to the idea of getting involved in community and neighbourhood watch programmes.

Not surprisingly, the survey also showed that burglary and anti-social behaviour are at the forefront of people’s minds these days. New text based neighbourhood watch programmes have been piloted in various areas around the country and have proved successful, according to the AA, and this may lead to a national roll out.

To be fair, Cavan has suffered a fair bit of stigma for being, let’s say, a little thrifty so it’s nice to see them getting the plaudits for something positive.

Although anyone who has ever tried to get money out of a Cavan person won’t be surprised that they top the list of defending themselves.