Group of ‘idiots’ smash windows of local leisure centre for the fourth time
By Brendan Grehan
THE MAYOR of South Dublin, Councillor Paul Gogarty has branded a group of vandals who broke windows in Lucan Leisure Centre over the weekend as “idiots”.
Last Friday night a number of windows were broken at the Leisure Centre.
On hearing the news Mayor Gogarty told The Echo: “ I’m not surprised. We have had a situation where a gang of teenagers damaged a number of cars in the centre.
"When the swimming pool is built there will be more lighting and better security. At the moment the centre can be quite dark and it is easy for these things to happen. It was just some idiots who were out drinking.”
Mayor Gogarty feels that there is a need for more community gardai in Lucan.
He said: “I don’t think we need a special task force to combat crime, but I do think that we could do with more community gardai in Lucan who could intervene in the lives of some young people and steer them to a better path.”
A spokesperson for Lucan Leisure Centre was not available to The Echo but the centre did make a statement on social media in the aftermath of the incident.
It said: “Once again for the fourth weekend in a row we have arrived to find more windows broken in the centre. Last night’s vandalism was done at approximately 10.15pm and we have CCTV of all the events which will be passed to the Garda.
“Having to replace these windows leads to an interruption of our services and impacts on those who realise the value of having a leisure facility in your area.
“We will post CCTV footage publicly but are somewhat reluctant to do this as we don’t want to cause public embarrassment for people who may not know what their teenage children are up to.
“Any information can be passed to staff at the centre or Lucan Garda Station.”
