Volunteer left in tears after vandals damage community fairy garden at Macroom car
Park
“I JUST can’t understand what kind of a person would do this to a wonderful facility that has given so much joy to so many people,”
Those were the heartfelt words of Catherine Murphy of Macroom Tidy Towns who was speaking after vandals caused more than €300 worth of damage to Tiny Feet Fairy Garden in the town.
The incident happened sometime on Monday evening, with numerous decorative ornaments at the base two of the trees in the garden, situated on the riverside at the Masseytown car-park, smashed and strewn about the area.
Catherine, who along with another volunteer Michael Burns, have worked tirelessly over the last 18-months to develop the enchanting garden, said there was no doubt but that this was a deliberate act of vandalism.
“The damaged items were set in concrete, so it would have taken a lot of effort to damage them. This was no accident. Whoever did this had to have used some kind of blunt instrument and a lot of force to cause this much damage,” said a visibly upset Catherine.
She said the garden cost in the region of €10,500 to set up, which included the cost of the decorative ornaments, various pieces of gardening equipment and a shed to store them in. The money was raised through fundraising events and donations, with volunteers giving up their time to help Catherine and Michael maintain the garden.
“I know that €300 worth of damage may not sound like a lot in the scheme of things, but Michael and I have worked constantly to build up and maintain the garden since it opened just over a year ago, and to us it is huge. We just wanted to give something back to the community and create something that people of all ages could enjoy,” said Catherine.
“To see that damage caused to the garden was hugely upsetting for us and indeed all of the volunteers that have helped us along the way. I cried when I saw what had been done. One lady came down to see the damage and I was so upset I could not even speak to her. I just can’t understand what kind of a person would do this to a wonderful facility that has given so much joy to so many people,” she added, saying the incident had been reported to local Gardaí.
However, the community spirit that led to the garden being set up in the firs place has again risen to the fore, with local businessman Michael McCarthy donating a CCTV camera to be erected at the site and Humphrey Lynch of Lynch’s Bakery allowing it to be powered from his nearby premises.
“Hopefully, this will ensure there will be no repeat of what was a very upsetting incident for us,” said Catherine.