You have to wonder just what Galway City Council means by the concept of residents – or indeed passers-by – taking up the notion of ‘adopting a public park’. It seemed that part of the context was to watch out for what is commonly termed ‘anti-social behaviour’.

The suggestion came up in the context of the fact that the Children’s Millennium Park, near Galway Cathedral, was left in a dreadful state one weekend recently – with litter, bottles, cans and every other sort of rubbish dumped in the area.

Not alone was it dangerous for children, who surely could not be let play in an area with bottles and glass in all directions, but, this being one of the prime districts where tourists wander when visiting the Cathedral, it was a dreadful advertisement for what Galway has to offer.

It appears that the reason the Children’s Park was not cleaned was because cutbacks meant there was no ‘weekend cover’ for cleaning . . . but what is the average member of the public expected to do when he/she sees ‘anti-social behaviour’ in the area? Certainly not intervene – unless you want to run the risk of a bottle over the head. The best anyone could do would be to ring the Gardaí on the mobile.

One would imagine that what regularly goes on in this park was some sort of well-kept secret. You wouldn’t have to be an eagle-eyed member of the public to see the drinking parties which very often commence there just after dark. Indeed, near the adjoining area for skate boarding, the ‘bush drinking’ parties can start long before dark.
There is also the problem of young adults using the swings, the seesaws and other equipment. The equipment was never meant for such abuse and no one dare intervene when ‘playtime’ begins for fullgrown adults who use this play area.

An odd foot patrol by Gardaí in the vicinity would serve to dramatically reduce the ‘bush drinking’ and abuse . . . which is doubly wrong because it is happening in, or near, a children’s playground. On Patrick’s Day the special Garda foot patrols stopped this nonsense in its tracks in this very area; Gardaí forfeited the drink in double quick time. In other words, we need an occasional Garda presence in the form of a passing foot patrol.

Of course, this isn’t the only ‘bush drinking’ which goes on under the eyes of the authorities. There are regular cider parties on the banks of the canal off Dominick Street . . . and the Mill Street Garda Station is certainly within 50 yards of one of the cider party locations. You couldn’t miss seeing the parties if you happened to glance out some of the station windows.

Thankfully, it was great to see a group of City Council workmen in action at the Children’s Millennium Park last week with a general clean-up going on, bushes and trees being trimmed, and real attention being paid to detail in getting the playground and surrounds back into the best condition possible. A pat on the back here for the workmen and for the city councillors who had highlighted the condition of the area and the need to pay attention to it.

On a more general note, one can quite understand that services such as weekend cleaning might be curtailed at a time of cutbacks, though children’s play areas sound like they might be excluded from such cuts. However, these are not the only amenities which are showing signs of neglect – whether the lack of cleaning is part of cutbacks, or not.

For more, read this week's Galway CIty Tribune.