Westport House vandalism ‘mindless’

Westport House vandalism ‘mindless’


Edwin McGreal

AN act of vandalism to a footbridge on the popular Westport House estate has been condemned as ‘mindless and reckless’.
The red wooden footbridge on the estate is now closed off after extensive damage was caused last week, as can be seen in our pictures.
It is another act of vandalism on the grounds which have become regular in recent years and is a problem which needs to be dealt with, according to Sheelyn Browne of Westport House.
“The annoying thing with all the vandalism we have to endure is that no one ever seems to get caught,” Ms Browne told The Mayo News. “On and off the bridge gets vandalised. It happens about five or six times a year for the last good few years but this is easily the worst damage we have. They really went to town on it and it looks like they tried to take the whole bridge down.
“I know people don’t like talking about this kind of behaviour and would prefer to talk about good parts of the town but this is just not good for the town and something needs to be done. It is happening far too regularly and the people doing it are getting away with it.
”We don’t mind people walking through the grounds at night but the problem here is that if someone walked over the bridge an hour after the vandalism, they could easily have fallen in and we would be completely liable.”
Yesterday (Monday) Sheelyn Browne held discussions on whether to repair or replace the bridge, located between the main house and the walled garden. A steel bridge would cost €6,000.
“It is a lovely wooden structure but it is getting to the point now where we’re going to have to look at putting in a steel bridge. It is not worth it with all the vandalism.”