Small-town vandalism in rural Mayo

A MAYO WOMAN'S DIARY: BY BARBARA DALY

IT is something that city and town dwellers probably deal with all the time and barely notice, but here in Louisburgh I have never seen much evidence of vandalism – until now.

In the past month or so I have come across street signs and signs for directions that have been completely defaced with spray paint using some sort of language or code.

Today I was at the river where four lovely picnic benches had been placed by the council and I realised as I got closer to them that they had been covered in the same graffiti and were completely destroyed.

A large green umbrella had also been put in place shading this area but this has now been taken down – because, I imagine, it received the same treatment.

It had been such a sign of hope during Covid that places like this were being improved both for locals who wanted to meet outdoors and for those who would visit when times were better.

It made me feel both sad for the wantonness and pointlessness of these acts and also angry that whoever did this has gotten away with it, free to strike again wherever they like.

We have few enough public amenities in this small town and to have any of them defaced is so disappointing.

I have no idea who did it but considering the amount of sites I have now seen, I can only assume the culprits are local.

A town like Louisburgh needs visitors returning and needs people to choose to live here to keep its businesses, schools and community alive.

To see such destruction of public property gives a false negative impression, an impression that there is an anti-social element in the town, which I don’t believe there is.

For those who work so hard to provide the opposite impression, this must be frustrating and maddening.

Just a small number of people can undo so much good so easily and thoughtlessly. I think that is what angers me most.

What point are they trying to make? Have they made it? Who knows?

This probably all sounds a bit naïve of me, especially to those dealing with anti-social behaviour on an ongoing basis.

It is probably a sign of how spoiled we are living in such a quiet, safe, relatively crime-free area.

Is that coming to an end or is this an isolated incident?

Let’s hope it is the latter.