Area at bottom of Millmount should become public park

EAGLE eyed locals watched in puzzled amusement this week as little pops of knitted colour sprang up around town.

Mystery surrounds who is responsible for the intricate knitted sleeves adorning lampposts in various locations around the town centre and on Laurence Street in particular but there is no denying the talent involved in the creations.

With everything from a mini St Laurence Gate to the iconic Millmount and the town’s emblematic star and crescent, the local ‘yarnbombing’ phenomenon has brought a smile to many local faces and set tongues wagging as the community speculates on who could be responsible.

Yarnbombing or guerrilla knitting as it’s sometimes referred to, is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk. THE waste-ground between Millmount and the green area on John Street (Joe Stanley memorial park) should be acquired by Louth County Council and turned into an amenity area for the public, it has been claimed.

Overgrown and unused for decades, the space could be become a much-used facility in the centre of the town, an extended green area offering tremendous views of the town and the town walls, and offer another access route to Millmount, according to local Councillor Frank Godfrey.

‘ This could become Drogheda’s own ‘St Stephen’s Green’, a green space in the town centre, and could be called Buttergate Amenity Park,’ said Cllr Godfrey.

‘I am calling on the Council to purchase this piece of land, tidy it up, install seating and pathways, and maybe uplight Millmount’s walls from there. It would be a continuation of the Joe Stanley Garden and would tidy up the whole area, offering easy access to Millmount for tourists from the bus station.’

Saying that this would be a great project for Louth County Council to undertake on behalf of the people of Drogheda, Cllr Godfrey warned that there should be no development allowed there in coming years. ‘We need to get control of the Buttergate land and develop it as an amenity for the people!’

Cllr Godfrey has tabled a motion for Louth County Council to discuss this matter.