Carlow village rallies after senseless vandalism

THE small but mighty community of Ballymurphy has proved its strength by rallying together after a random act of vandalism occurred in the village.

The village defibrillator was torn off the wall of the local pub, Murray’s, and its cover was smashed, rendering the machine unworkable and causing almost €500 worth of damage. Flower pots were smashed outside the pub while flower beds in the house next door were completely destroyed.

CCTV footage of vandalism shows a man pulling up outside the pub at 2.30am on Tuesday morning, 19 August, in a pickup truck with an English registration. He is seen getting out of the truck and pulling the defibrillator off the wall and smashing it and also breaking flower pots.

“A defibrillator is a vital piece of equipment. God knows what family will need it next. It needs to be there in case of an emergency so we need to get it sorted as soon as possible,” said John Whelan, secretary of Ballymurphy Celtic AFC.

He continued: “This is a very quiet area, we never get vandalism here. We’re trying to piece it all together. Murray’s pub wasn’t even open the evening before it happened because it only opens Thursday to Sunday. They run an excellent business there and have the place immaculate. 

"CCTV footage shows man pulling up outside the pub, pulling the sign off the pub gate, wrecking the flower pots and smashing the cover of the defibrillator. It’s mind boggling why anyone would want to do that. There’s no explanation for that mindset. It doesn’t make sense for anyone to do that.” 

The residents were shocked that this could happen in their peaceful village and as soon as the news filtered through, the local tidy towns committee put out a call for help on Tuesday. Over 30 people turned up that evening and cleaned the place, cutting hedges, weeding the flower beds and generally being together as a show of strength.

Members of Ballymurphy Celtic AFC soccer club immediately decided to cover the cost of getting the defibrillator repaired.

“After the tidy towns committee put up the notice on Facebook about 30 people arrived to clean up. It was a show of strength for the community. The soccer club spoke about it and we decided straight away to pay for the repairs to the defibrillator,” John pointed out.

The club runs a monthly prize draw called Split the Pot with the next draw taking place on Sunday 31 August in Murray’s pub. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to get the defibrillator fixed and if there’s a shortfall, the club will cover it from its own funds.

“It’s great to see everyone pulling together like this. We’re taking the silver lining out of the situation,” concluded John.