Playground shut due to €20,000 worth of damage caused by mindless vandals

BY COLIN BARTLEY

A COMMUNITY playground has been forced to close down after vandals caused €20,000 worth of damage to the facility.

Kilkenny County Council made the unavoidable decision to close down the playground at the Fr McGrath Centre on St Joseph’s Road in the city.

The decision to temporarily close the playground was made due to the number of incidents of vandalism and anti-social behaviour over the past year, as well as the cost to repair the facility.

Over the past year, the council has pumped €20,000 into the playground to cover the cost of damage and vandalism. The council’s entire budget for upkeep and maintenance of the 27 playgrounds in the county is €80,000

The latest attack is the last straw. The vandals ripped up and burned the rubber matting of the playground.

Fr McGrath Centre General Manager Stephen Murphy said he was “horrified.”

Mr Murphy told Kilkenny Now.ie: “This was an act of mindless vandalism. Whole chunks of the surface were ripped up and unfortunately, it means the playground is no longer safe for the children to use.”

Garda investigations into this incident are ongoing.