Piece written for "Clonakilty Notes", Southern Star, dated 10th July 2010
CAR PARK VANDALS
Vandalism in Clonakilty town took on a new low last weekend, when a car parked at Deasy’s Car Park, was overturned by a number of men from up the country. It appears the thugs arrived into the car park sometime after 2.30am on Sunday morning 4th July, and randomly choose the 1988 registered white Ford Fiesta, parked there by its owner who was attending a wedding, and proceeded to lift it and turned it on its roof. At the time, a number of locals were in the car park at the time, and apprehended one of the culprits and called the Gardaí. The Gardaí arrived and arrested a number of people in relation to the attack on the car. Any information about the incident can be given to the Garda Station on 023-8821570.
Last weekends incident is the latest and most serious to date at Deasy’s Car Park, which is a haven for reckless driving, noise, illegal drinking, littering and related activities by a small minority of people who show no respect for the facility as evidenced by the skid marks on the tarmac, and the broken drink bottles, glasses and cans that are strewn around the place after each invasion by these anti-social elements.
As well as this, the increasing regularity of these gatherings over recent weeks has been causing great concern, discomfort and even fear for nearby residents, who are kept awake into the early hours by loud exhausts, blaring car radios and screaming human beings. Some of these residents are elderly and not in the best of health, while others have young children.
That a gurrier element like this can assemble, cause havoc for hours on end until nearly dawn week in week out, and that nothing appears to be done to clamp down on this activity in a tourist town that prides itself on Tidy Towns awards, high standards of living, and community spirit is leaving many people wondering why this loutish behaviour is tolerated?
