The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Scorched dunes strewn with litter after beach parties in the sun
‘Disgusting’ scenes of fires & littering from Banna to Beale
COASTAL dwellers from Banna to Beale are at their wit’s end over beach parties that resulted in ‘disgusting’ scenes of plastic and glass beer bottles and other litter strewn everywhere.
At least three massive parties were held in the remotest part of the dunes in Banna the weekend before last , with the partygoers leaving a mountain of rubbish behind them.
One local said he felt utterly ‘frustrated’ at the behaviour that has spoilt large tracts of his otherwise pristine coastal home.
And further north along the coast residents of Beale Strand say they now fear fine weather given the numbers that descend on the beach and the scenes of littering they leave behind. Just last week, the Council had to be called to remove everything from masses of beer bottles to collapsible picnic tables and tents left behind by one massive group.
In Banna, however, the rubbish remained in place for more than a week.
“I am just disgusted, frustrated and annoyed that people could treat the place with such disregard for the environment and other people,” one Banna resident, who doesn’t wish to be named, said.
His family watched with increasing anxiety the weekend before last as scores of young people were ferried out by cars to the remote part of Banna, lugging a massive supply of booze, with three separate parties going on over the course of the entire weekend in the dunes.
“My message is to please take your rubbish home with you and respect other people’s use of the beach. It’s absolutely appalling what was left here, one group even attempted to bury their rubbish into a pit which they tried to burn, bringing a shovel and all for the task.
“I don’t mind people having parties. Everyone has the right to party provided they do so sensibly and take the rubbish with them.”
He said that much of the plastics left behind have already blown away, and that beer bottles were left strewn along trails across the dunes as well – not just at the party sites. The littering came after a fire scorched a considerable stretch of the precious dune system earlier that week.
However, the rubbish was finally removed on Monday this week, as residents commended the clean-up operation as a ‘fantastic job.’
In Beale, one woman is keeping the beach clean in the absence of a regular Council service and in the face of desperate scenes in the fine weather.
“It’s getting that we are starting to hate the fine weather now,” Ita Hannon told The Kerryman. “I walk the beach twice a day, very early in the morning and late at night and during the fine weather the amount of rubbish left here is just shocking.”
Incredibly, Ita collects most of it, leaving it in black bags by the entrance of the beach for the Council to collect on a weekly basis - even during the winter. The Council did respond to her complaint last week about the excessive scenes.
“We think there must have been a special occasion held on the beach as there was such a large gathering, in the middle of the restrictions. They were there over two days, cleaning up after them the first day but not the second.
“The Council came out because I reported it, they picked up a picnic table, a tent and all its contents, a mountain of beer bottles, the packaging of whatever food they had. Throughout the rest of the year I’m picking the litter up constantly and leaving it at the entrance, which is mad really. It shouldn’t be my job and if it is my job I should be paid for it at the very least,” Ita said.
She said that one of the big problems with Beale is the lack of rubbish bins. They had been in place seasonally up until a few years ago when the Council decided not to replace them, saying they would attract domestic waste.
“But you could get those bins with the small hole at the top that would prevent people from dumping masses of domestic rubbish. Beale is a beautiful place, but it’s a public beach that has no public facilities even though the place gets packed in the fine weather.
“Go down the road to Ballybunion and they have every facility needed. It’s just not good enough. We’re not opposed to people coming to the beach and enjoying themselves or even partying – if they just cleaned up their rubbish after them and showed respect for the beach and other people. That’s all we’re looking for, that and the proper public facilities we deserve here.”
Ita said the lack of toilet facilities presented its own difficulties too, with some rare sights to be seen from the windows of local homes. “They take pains not to be seen from the beach but never think about us living here as we look down and all we see is the bare backside!”
And she also has to regularly contend with bagged dog foul. “It’s the dirtiest of the dirtiest. I can’t stand it. They pick up after their dogs in the bright yellow bags, but then they just throw the bag away. They would be better off leaving the dog do it naturally so it might get washed away!”