Gardaí are investigating an act of vandalism in which someone drilled their way through 88 solar-powered public lights which had just been erected on a walkway in Crosshaven, Co Cork.
Cork County Council recently installed the lights to illuminate the Crosshaven walkway at a cost of just over €4,500.
Someone appears to have used a drill to break the photocell of each individual light on the walkway some time between July 24th and July 28th. The destruction of the lights would have required several hours of work.
“Each individual light was drilled through the centre, damaging the photocell and rendering all 88 lights – installed by the council at a cost of €4,521 – completely useless,” a Cork Co Council spokesperson said.
The lights had been installed on July 15th. All lights were damaged beyond repair.
A Garda probe is being launched. Anyone who spotted suspicious activity in the area in mid- to late- July are asked to contact gardaí in Carrigaline.
The lights were installed along an 800m stretch of the walk between the Kilnagleary car park and Leary’s Cross. This is a popular local amenity.
The local authority had planned to extend the solar lighting to a further 4.5km section of the walkway over the coming years.
“The spotlights were carefully chosen as the light from them is diffused horizontally over a specific localised area – delineating the path in evening time while being sensitive to the needs of local wildlife,” a council spokesperson explained.
The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Christopher O Sullivan said he was disgusted by the incident. “Cork County Council strives to provide the very best quality of service to the people of Cork and in a manner that respects the environment and enhances existing amenities,” he said. “The damage done to this pilot scheme of energy efficient public lighting is very disappointing.”