It is understood that vandals who visited Raharney last weekend and caused damage at a business premises and in the grounds of the spectacular ‘The Island’ leisure park in the early hours of last Sunday morning, 25 September, may be losing more sleep this week with the news that they could well be identified from CCTV footage in the area.
The damage at Raharney’s leisure park – which came just a day before Raharney came second in its category in the 2016 Tidy Towns Competitions – is believed to have taken place some time after 1am in the early hours of Sunday morning and possibly between 3am and 4am.
Also in the early hours of Sunday morning, damage was caused at a business premises, when a promotional sign was taken out and broken and a quantity of flowers were thrown around the road and jumped upon.
BEEN EXAMINED
A number of premises in Raharney are fitted with CCTV cameras and Topic learned on Monday that recordings from at least one of the premises had already been examined and that it shows vandalism in progress.
The cost of the vandalism and damage at Raharney’s leisure park and at one of the business premises is estimated at €1,200.
NOT LOCAL
Local Joe Mullen said that they are confident that those who did the damage in the leisure park and on the street “are not local to Raharney”.
However, there were strong indications that those who caused the damage would live within a short radius of Raharney and Killucan.
VERY UPSETTING
Joe Mullen does voluntary work in helping to maintain the Raharney leisure park.
Much of the upkeep is provided by the Tús scheme.
He said that, with all the work the Tús scheme does at ‘The Island’ leisure park, together with the voluntary work of others, it was very upsetting to see the vandalism from last weekend.
Mr. Mullen pointed out that the vandalism included the breaking of two of the information signs in the leisure park, one promoting ‘Local Fishing’ and one promoting ‘Wildlife’.
Glass and other items had been scattered around the leisure park and it required a comprehensive cleanup this week.
The leisure park, across the road from the Grotto in Raharney, runs beside the River Deel and is used as a picnic area by all ages, for recreation, and at times for swimming.
Mr. Mullen explained that it got its name originally as ‘The Island’ because of its proximity to the River Deel and a mill race there which at the time formed an island at the location.
SEVERAL ACCOUNTS
Topic received several accounts of the vandalism caused, although not everyone was in a position to be identified.
The feeling of anger and disgust was palpable in the area from Sunday morning last when residents witnessed the damage caused within the area.
Signage worth in excess of €400 was destroyed and glass and filth strewn throughout the well maintained green area.
Further damage was caused when the vandals proceeded to smash another sign in the village and uproot flowers from their beds and scatter them along the roadway.
“It took a great deal of money, support from groups and a local company to make this feature the beautiful facility it is today,” we were told.
“People have put in a great deal of voluntary hours refurbishing the entire area. We all have a great pride in our surroundings and this type of deplorable anti social activity will not be tolerated. More work and expense will now be involved in restoring this beauty spot for everyone to enjoy.”
