‘Criminal youths’ use park as a playground for joyriding
A CAR stolen from a man’s home ended up in a familiar place last month – among a littered scrap-heap of burnt-out vehicles at Clonburris lands.
The green fields, located to the north of the railway line and south of Thomas Omer Way, forms part of South Dublin County Council’s Clonburris SDZ (Strategic Development Zone) but work has yet to commence on the site.
The Echo has covered joyriding and burnt-out cars on the land for years. Archived articles helped Lucan man Michael Hurson in his research, after his own car was robbed last month.
Ten days after his Toyota Aqua was stolen from his driveway in the Griffeen area, Mr Hurson received a call from gardai informing him that the car was found 1km away in Clonburris.
He went over to have a look, finding a gap to walk in and scout the grounds.
“I expected to go up and see my car but was shocked to see that there is approximately 10 to 15 cars burnt out in this field. Worse than that, they have built a track up there to run the cars into the ground before lighting them up,” he said.
“My car was a Japanese import, I should never have bought it, apparently there is no immobiliser. I saw six or seven cars up there, all with the Toyota emblem.”
Michael said his car was found on land behind Kishogue Community College.
“Apart from the obvious pollution issues which arises from cars being left to disintegrate like this – 300 metres from the Grand Canal – this is hardly the sight we want school kids to view daily. It is ridiculous that these lads are allowed to run riot. I can’t believe it is allowed to happen.”
closer look at the burnt-out cars (circled in red) from Google maps
Clllr Derren Ó Brádaigh (SF) said that although the land is marked for development, in the interim “for want of a better description – local entrepreneurs” are using it as a “rally track.”
“Some of the cars are not stolen, bought cheap, and run into the ground. I’ve had a number of requests in with the council, and in fairness they have secured the perimeter, but they find a way to get in,” said Cllr Ó Brádaigh.
“Last year, they set a car on fire beside an ESB pole, close to the railway line which put a new dimension on it. It knocked off the power (approximately 1,500 people affected according to local reports), a substantial power loss that night.”
Ó Brádaigh asked the council for figures of vehicles removed from the land during 2019-21, and understands about five cars were removed.
However, when a truck removal was taking place at the site in April 2021, he spoke to the driver and understands approximately 40 vehicles were removed at the time.
The Echo understands the land is owned privately, and has asked SDCC for comment.
Mr Hurson went through a “nightmare” to sort his insurance because it was difficult to identify and remove his car from the land.
“The salvage crew used by local gardai say that it is not possible to extract the cars and say that it is the responsibility of the local council,” he said.
“There is a ridiculous hedgerow along the Thomas Ober Way these idiots can joyride out of sight from the public. Essentially this field is left as a playground for criminal youths to perfect their trade.
“This area is far too close to estates like my own for this behaviour to be allowed. Even if this development is to commence in the next few months, this activity should be stopped and the cars removed. This area has been earmarked for development for over five years now and if recession bites over the next few months who knows for sure if this approved development will
even go ahead.”
Cllr Ó Brádaigh said the council need to reinforce the perimeter and create public awareness of Authorised Treatment Facilities (ATFs) in the county for end-of-life vehicles.
“The area lends itself to anti-social activity. It is not a safe area. Along with environmental concerns of decaying batteries and vehicles, there is not enough awareness of ATFs. A whole lot more needs to be done by the council to inform people of these facilities.”
