Crosshaven vandal knows the drill

A targeted act of vandalism has destroyed 88 recently installed spotlights on the Crosshaven Walkway.

The solar powered lights were installed last month as part of a successful pilot scheme progressed by Cork County Council in response to requests from locals.

The lights were carefully chosen for their eco-friendly and non-intrusive design and were phase one of a larger plan to install a further 4.5km of lights.

Local Fianna Fáil Cllr Audrey Buckley describe the vandalism as “soul destroying” and said that acquiring funding for local projects such as this can be very difficult.

“They were only set up in July at the cost of about €5,000. I'm very disheartened. We were trying to get lights for years. The lights were cost efficient, environmentally friendly and they weren't bothering anyone. They were the perfect solution,” she said.

According to the County Council, each individual light was meticulously drilled through the centre, damaging the photocell and rendering all 88 solar lights completely useless.

The lights were installed over an 800m stretch of the popular Crosshaven Walkway between the car park at Kilnagleary and Leary’s Cross.

Cllr Buckley said: “It's my opinion that this wasn't anti-social behaviour from teenagers. This was purposely done by somebody malicious. I just don't understand why someone would do this.”

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan also expressed his dismay, saying that the damage done is “very disappointing”. The incident has been reported to the gardaí and is currently under investigation.