By Cianna McNally

Eight members of Carrickmacross Town Council voted to reinstall a children’s playground in the Drummond Etra/Valley Close area of the town but Fine Gael councillor Mary Kerr-Conlon went against the motion.

The play-park was vandalised some time ago and as a result was closed. Sinn Féin councillor Matt Carthy tabled a motion at this week’s meeting of Carrickmacross Town Council that the facility would be reinstalled and the council would examine the potential to carry the work out as part of a full development of the Gallows Hill area. Cllr Carthy said that there was a large number of children in the area who deserved a playground and should a new one be installed it would be made secure. Residents in the area concerned would also be consulted.

Fianna Fáil’s Pádraig McNally seconded Cllr Carthy’s motion and described the vandalism as being carried out by “sick thugs” and said that it was an example of why a playground could not be installed without ensuring it is both fenced and locked each night. Cllr McNally added that he did not believe that the Gallows Hill location was the best for a play-area as he felt it “offered too much cover for vandals.” Cllr Noel Keelan said it was important that the children living in Drummond Etra/Valley Close area would not be penalised because of the vandals and suggested the council would look at the possibility of getting somebody to look after the play-area in terms of its security.

However, Cllr Kerr-Conlon disagreed that a playground should be reinstalled stating that “residents and parents in the area should have taken better care of the first one.” She also said she could not support asking ratepayers to pay for another play-area. Party colleague Teresa Carolan said that she understood Cllr Kerr-Conlon’s view on the matter but felt that a “highly visible” area needed to be found if a new play-park was going to be installed. “Residents need to step up and take a bit of interest as penalising future generations is not on,” stated Cllr Carolan.

Cllr Carthy hit back at Cllr Kerr-Conlon’s comments describing them as “disgraceful” and stated that he had said that the initial play-park needed to be fenced not long after it had been opened. “We built a facility and left it to its own devices but at least we now know that that is an area where vandalism can occur. We could work in conjunction with the Gardaí on this. Don’t blame an entire community for the actions of three or four members,” the Sinn Féin councillor declared. Speaking as resident of Drummond Etra Green Party councillor Kristina Jankaitiene fully supported the motion.

Cllr McNally stated that where the council would decide to locate the new play-area would not mean it would become the sole property of the estate. He added that while he was very sympathetic to the business community in the town in the present economic climate, ratepayers although providing an important “stream of revenue” for Carrickmacross Town Council, were not the only revenue providers. The Fianna Fáil councillor felt funding for the new playground could be found in other ways. Councillors Catherine Martin and Mark Clarke supported the motion as did newly elected Mayor P.J O’Hanlon who reiterated the importance of having the new playground made secure if it was to be installed.