There was outrage in Fermoy this week as newly installed street furniture along part of Ashe Quay has been shamelessly defaced by, as-yet, unknown vandals. Covered with black marker, the benches and street lighting are situated across from Fermoy Rowing Club, a popular public area for walking, swimming and socialising.

PRO of Fermoy Tidy Towns, Tadhg O'Donovan condemned the vandalism, and made assurances that the Tidy Towns committee would take swift action to remove the crude drawings and other graffiti. Stringent measures, he said, must be taken to ensure that there are no follow-ups.

Cllr Noel McCarthy, chairperson of Fermoy Tidy Towns, vented his disgust at the vandalism of which both the Gardaí and Cork County Council have been made aware. 

"I would ask any member of the public, who sees such vandalism occurring, to report it to the relevant authorities, or to the Tidy Towns committee who will deal with the issue straight away," Cllr McCarthy said. He added that a 'name and shame' policy for the culprits is the only way to curb such incidents, and bring those culpable to justice. 

This point was echoed by John Murphy of Fermoy Tidy Towns, who said he 'condemns it in the highest possible manner'. "It's terrible to see it, along such a beautiful part of the town. I hope those responsible are caught, brought to justice and tried." He added that Tidy Towns personnel would immediately conduct the cleaning of the affected street furniture.

Christy Roche, a long standing officer of the Tidy Towns group said it's a shame 'and very disheartening for all those working for the betterment of Fermoy'.
"Thankfully, this type of thing is rare enough in Fermoy and we can only hope we won't see a recurrence of it," he said.

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