Severe dumping and neglect continues in St Cuthberts Park

By Maurice Garvey

A MOTHER who walks her child to school via St Cuthbert’s Park posted pictures on social media this week depicting the chronic dumping situation at the troubled Clondalkin amenity.

Antoinette Merriman was so “disgusted” at the state of the park on Wednesday morning, that she decided to highlight the problem.

Images show a neglected horse starved of water and in a distressed state, along with domestic rubbish strewn all across the park’s landscape.

Antoinette also shared a video of broken glass on a path in the park, which has been “there since St Patrick’s night – enough is enough,” she said.

“Are people in our area prepared to put up with this. The horse in the pictures, at first I thought was dead, thankfully not, but it’s not in good shape and had no water left in his bucket. The bin bags in the park have been there for weeks at this stage.”

Local residents supported Ms Merriman’s post, laying blame on a small minority of local families who “have the place destroyed” and joyriders who frequently burn out cars in the vicinity of the park.

“Filthy animals dumping rubbish and then people wonder why the place is flooded with rats,” said one resident.

Long-standing issues of dumping and anti-social behavior in the park are “out of control” at this stage, according to Sinn Féin councillor Mark Ward, who contacted South Dublin County Council to remove the rubbish and the horse, which was gone by the time council staff arrived.

Residents attended a public meeting in Bawnogue on Wednesday night to discuss the severity ofthe situation, which Cllr Ward says was an opportunity for residents to air their concerns to the council and gardai.

A task force was established last year to “reclaim the park”, with some residents afraid to use the facility.

SDCC is allocating €30,000 for CCTV at St Cuthberts Park, which Cllr Ward believes “will make a difference”, but he also called for the local authority to “deploy extra resources” to deal with the ongoing problems.