Vandals caused more than €500,000 worth of damage to Office of Public Works (OPW) property over the bank holiday weekend.
Four OPW vehicles were overturned and damaged along with four CCTV towers, which were smashed at Donaghcumper House, Celbridge, in Co Kildare.
Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran described the criminal damage as “shocking” and “unacceptable”.
Nearby Castletown House, one of the most architecturally significant Palladian-style country homes in Ireland, was closed in 2023 in a dispute over a right of access to its lands, which are a popular place for local people to walk.
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Private land within the estate was sold to a developer who closed off an entrance and car park near the M4 to the public and to the OPW.
OPW staff returned to Castletown House on April 10th for the first time in two years, with a goal of opening the house to the public at the end of May.
However, they were unable to access the site because of a dispute over the right of access at Lime Avenue.
OPW staff have been using Donaghcumper House as a base. Between April 22nd and 30th, a number of incidents took place at the Donaghcumper House site, including fire damage to outbuildings and staff welfare facilities.
This escalated last weekend with the vandalism of the vehicles and CCTV towers.
Two of the groups involved in restoring the right of way have condemned the incident.
The Save Castletown Committee said it was “shocked by the news of arson attacks. Save Castletown Committee would like to take this opportunity to express our solidarity with staff and those affected by these attacks”.
The Castletown Gate Protectors posted on their Facebook page: “We are shocked and deeply saddened by the news this evening about the extensive criminal damage to OPW property at Donaghcumper House. We condemn any such action in the strongest possible terms and hope those responsible are brought to justice swiftly.”
