When I was there (last yearish) At one point there was a break in up on abbey church, the owner came home and shot one guy. Shot at the other but he got away. The area was taped off for a while.
There was a fire in a close building, and we had to evacuate, though I think it was accidental.
Another time I actually saw a motherfucker crawl out from under my neighbors garage door. He had been in the apartment, and stole money. Kids sleeping on the couch downstairs too. Police caught him, and said he was responsible for an ongoing string of break-ins. You probably know how cookie-cutter those places are... figure out how to get in one (not hard) you know how to get in to all of them.
Heres the kicker: he was let go within a week. Thats why I ask, hes probably still doing the same shit.
I had my pistol with me there, and would definitely recommend any competent person have one, which is sad for being dublin. At least have some teargas or a knife handy.
Also, maintenance (or lack thereof) was supposed to be going around and installing locks on the garage doors. You can lift them with one hand. If there is not one on your door, I recommend putting a master lock through the rail at night. I had motion sensors downstairs too, that would scream if activated.
Call me paranoid, but after I saw how easy it was to get in, I sure as hell didnt feel safe with their cheap generic setup.
I can say that surprisingly enough, I had zero problems with my car, which was amazing.
As for the snowball, put two smaller balls on top of it, stick a carrot in the top one and call it a day.