Protected habitats have been burned, vandalised, and torn up across Ireland’s national parks over the past eighteen months.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) records detail dozens of incidents of arson, scrambler damage, theft, and repeated acts of vandalism at one location in County Galway.
Ten of the thirty-four cases of damage were logged at Coole Park near Gort, County Galway.
This included three separate occasions when a person – or persons – deliberately blocked toilets with loo roll, including the disabled facility.
In other cases at Coole Park, floor tiles were torn up, cobbles were removed and strewn around, and locks were cut off gates.
There were also multiple further incidents of fires, removal of signs, and damaged padlocks at the beleaguered site.
A note said: “Further damage and theft from outside toilet block including repeated removal of disinfectant dispensers; either being taken or thrown into nearby vegetation.
“[Also], toilets being blocked with toilet roll and hand towels on repeated occasions; soap dispensers emptied, and contents sprayed all over sink areas and floors.”
The two most serious incidents both took place in County Mayo and were the result of fire.
At Wild Nephin National Park, more than forty hectares of conifer forest and peatland were destroyed in a suspected arson attack in April of this year.
A few days earlier, a separate wildfire destroyed the Claggan boardwalk and thirty hectares of peatland in the same protected habitat.
The Octagon at the Glen of the Downs Park in County Wicklow was another hotspot for antisocial activity, according to the NPWS files.