Call-out to quell­ bonfire activities at Halloween time

RENEWED calls have been made for community-led Halloween activities to quell the number of bonfires in the county.

The topic was discussed at a Tallaght Area Committee meeting this week, with some councillors describing bonfires as being part of a tradition, while others suggested it should be left in the past.

South Dublin County Council expects to spend in the region of €150,000 this Halloween for machinery, the removal and disposal of waste, and the replanting of green areas related to bonfires.

Speaking at the meeting, independent councillor Mick Duff said: “Regretfully, we read about six trees being chopped down to be used as firewood, and someone burned a green bin, on the green space at Tymonville a little over a week ago.

“That’s heartbreaking, that we still have that behaviour going on. We need to change that behaviour because the schools are willing to do their job and they’ll talk to young people.

“The sports clubs . . . are willing to talk to young people and say these are our resources, these are your resources, these are our greens, this is where we train – it’s not there to be destroyed in a moment of madness.”

He added: “I get disheartened when somebody tells me, ‘This is our tradition’.

“It was our tradition when we didn’t have telephones, and we couldn’t ring the person in the next town to say the Vikings were coming so you lit a bonfire to let them know what was happening.

“We don’t need to do that anymore. Stay home, enjoy yourselves and enjoy the evening.

“It’s a good festival and there’s plenty of activities, other than standing around seeing people trying to burn fridges, microwaves and mattresses. It just doesn’t make sense whatsoever.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Teresa Costello said she was similarly disillusioned with people referring to lighting bonfires as a necessary tradition.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘So what? It’s tradition, let the kids have fun’,” she said.

“I’ve always said to those people, would they be willing to be a part of a clean-up, or would they be willing to pay part towards the bill that it costs?”

Cllr Costello said that she and Sinn Féin councillor Louise Dunne had planned to submit a motion for a community Halloween event but didn’t manage to get it over the line in time for this year.

Independent councillor Paddy Holohan said that while he disagreed with bins being stolen and set alight, he did view bonfires as an important tradition in Ireland.

“I don’t agree with stealing bins, I don’t agree with any of this kind of stuff,” he explained.

“But I do agree with the tradition and the culture of Halloween, basically.

“We are a small little island and look at how we’ve influenced the world with St Patrick’s Day and Halloween. There needs to be a better way.

“When I lived in Belfast as a kid, there were bonfires and they were community-led and organised and supervised and there was music, there was food.

“It was a really positive, happy time that I remember as a kid, especially in a place that sometimes wasn’t always a happy place.

“I think we need to think outside the box a little bit more for Halloween, but to make sure we keep the idea of the tradition and the culture alive.”

The council stated that it is employing a cross-departmental approach to Halloween to prevent damage to green spaces and to promote a ‘safe Halloween’.

The council has held meetings with Kilnamanagh Neighbourhood Watch and Tymon North residents in recent days regarding bonfire arrangements.

“These meetings help to coordinate the efforts of the residents, the council and the gardaí in identifying and removing material stockpiles and minimising the impact of bonfires on those areas,” stated the council.

“The pre-Halloween collections of the council show an increase from 2020 in materials intercepted before Halloween with council crews out collecting material on 13 of the 14 days prior to Halloween in 2022.

“Collections will take place on the October bank holiday weekend and right up to Halloween itself to maximise the amount of materials intercepted before they reach bonfires.”

For full access to all content on Echo.ie and to support the continuation of local news and local journalism in your community subscribe HERE.

Thanks for your ongoing support.