LOCAL COUNCILLORS HAVE denounced a fire which was started in Dublin 8′s Weaver Park yesterday that did extensive damage to wooden climbing frames and play areas.

Gardaí have said they are investigating the incident that occurred near Cork Street at approximately 6:20pm yesterday evening and that no arrests have been made.

Sinn Fein councillor for the South West Inner City, Máire Devine, visited the area this morning and said that the park, which has been attacked and vandalised before, is of great value to the community.

“The distress of the small children as they pass by is evident, their favourite place has been blackened and destroyed,” she said.

“That park was built by the blood, sweat and tears of the community there, persuading the council that this was possible. It was years in the making. There were serious incidents before, there had been a fire before but yesterday’s fire was much fiercer.

“It’s like a kick in the stomach to the entire community. We’re very, very upset.”

How appalling to see such wonton destruction of a local amenity. Such disdain for the wider community. Such disdain for the huge time and effort that went into creating this beautiful park. #WeaverPark pic.twitter.com/r9aAj0WAEs

— The Liberties Dublin (@libertiesdublin) October 9, 2022

The park was constructed in 2017 as part of the city council’s greening strategy for The Liberties, an area which has a lower proportion of green space per person than most other parts of Dublin.

Weaver Park features a playground, skate park, and greenspace with specially designed elements aimed to reflect the local culture and history.

Devine stated that although discussions on the rebuilding of the playground are at a very early stage, she believes that all of the damaged climbing frames will be replaced exactly as they were.

Dublin City Council issued a statement this evening assuring the public that repairs will be carried out as soon as an assessment has been done on the extent of the damage.

Weaver Park is illustrative of the significant investment in amenities which Dublin City Council has made in The Liberties in recent year on behalf of the community. The high level of use of the park is testament to the value which the wider community places on this amenity.”

Dublin City Council statement regarding fire at Weaver Park. pic.twitter.com/6eRv5ef4hi

— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) October 10, 2022

Green Party group leader on Dublin City Council and councillor for the South West Inner City, Michael Pidgeon, said that the local community was incredibly angry at the act of arson.

“I’ve seen some photos this morning. The structure itself seems relatively intact. So I think we’re gonna have to wait and see from council staff, how much of that can be salvaged and how much of it requires complete replacement.”

Unfortunately, firefighters were called to a playground fire off Cork Street earlier this evening. One fire engine from Dolphins Barn fire station responded and quickly extinguished the fire. We're asking members of the public to report any suspicious behaviour to Gardaí pic.twitter.com/G6JeUU8sLD

— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) October 9, 2022

“It’s something that has happened before certainly. There were problems with violence in the park and a while ago, we secured some extra Garda presence there and I think it resolved a lot of the issues.”

“You sometimes hear people say things like ‘This is why we have to have nice things,’ or people saying we can’t just keep replacing this, or maybe we should reconsider the park. I just think that’s completely wrong. You absolutely rebuild. This is a tiny proportion of idiots doing this stuff and the entire community can’t suffer for it,” he added.

The year after its completion Weaver Park was nominated for a European Prize for Urban Public Space, an awards initiative run by the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB).

Nominees are chosen through the CCCB’s board of experts selecting recently completed public areas in Europe that “foster the public character of urban spaces and their capacity for fostering social cohesion”.

Pidgeon added that of the thousands of people who used the park, he believed it “was a small number of idiots,” who were responsible for yesterday’s fire.