Sunny day can’t mask tension in Brittas Bay By Debbie McCann
Locals are not happy at caravan park that is still open and active
A GARDA helicopter hovers over Brittas Bay, swooping down low over the beach as the coastline basks in glorious sunshine. On either end of the coast road leading to the exclusive caravan park Potters Point and the Brittas Bay car parks Garda checkpoints are in operation.
If this was a usual Easter weekend the beach would be full of people, but this weekend is far from normal. The beach car parks are chained and holiday home owners staying in the area are looking over their shoulders as locals voice their anger at them being there.
A steady stream of holiday home owners and locals enter the Daybreak shop for morning coffee as the Irish Mail on Sunday arrives in the popular Wicklow holiday destination, but there is an air of tension amid reports a minority of people around the country are flouting in lockdown rules.
Potters Point was forced to defend why around 20 of its mobile homes are occupied after locals reported seeing people entering the caravan park to gardaí. On its Facebook page it said it is a ‘long stay’ caravan park and that gardaí had visited a number of mobile homes and told owners to consider it their ‘permanent abode’ for the duration of the restrictions. It added: ‘From mid-March there have been about 20 mobile homes occupied and since the 2km restrictions were announced, no extra people have arrived at Potters Point.’ The park confirmed gardaí had visited the people staying on its site.
But a number of locals told of their ‘disgust’ at the park’s decision to remain somewhat open. One posted its Facebook page: ‘This is ridiculous from both the owners and the residents of these holiday homes. Driven by greed and selfishness. They should all be fined and made regret their selfish decision.’
The MoS spoke to a number holiday home owners staying in Potters Point said the anger was ‘apparent’. We also observed a number of people coming and going in cars, bikes and on foot and takeaway food being delivered to a man wearing shorts and flip flops.
One owner told how he has experienced ‘a lot of local anger’. While he was chatting to the MoS at the gates of the caravan park a woman pulled in her car and rolled down her window to give an unimpressed look. ‘There’s a lot of that,’ said the man nodding over.
But he went on to explain his reasons for being here: ‘My two older daughters contracted Covid-19 and we left them isolating in Dublin and moved here with our younger daughters a few weeks back.
‘There are older people isolating in here too. You might see them on their bikes, but people are keeping to themselves. People are annoyed in the area. The see us using the local shops and bringing the virus here.’
Another man leaving the park to go to the local shop told how people in the park are ‘abiding by the guidelines’.
Others coming and going from the park refused to talk when approached, while a man working in the park said local people shouldn’t be annoyed because ‘there is only a handful of people down here doing their thing’.
‘People have been here since before St Patrick’s Day and they’re not going home because they feel safer here.
‘We’re not in a position to lock the place because we have a permanent residence in here,’ he explained. When contacted by the MoS, Potters Point hung up the phone and said ‘good luck’ without any further comment.
The local shop has seen a steady number of holiday home owners in the shop. One girl working in the shop said it has been ‘busy’.
‘There’s been a lot of people from the parks and other holiday homes in the area coming into the shop. There are some people who have been here since before March 25, and they have to stay now.’
But she said people have also arrived since lockdown. ‘There must be some way they are getting in [by avoiding Garda checkpoints], there is an app people are using to avoid the checkpoints.’