AN “UNOFFICIAL FESTIVAL” which saw up to 60 teenagers descend on a Kerry beach has been slammed as “carnage”.
Camping is against the rules at Derrynane Historic National Park, but a group of teenagers engaged in what has been described as a “three-day rave”.
Photos taken after the weekend show human faeces, used condoms, tents and other debris left in the park, which is home to the Daniel O’Connell Museum.
The party, which spanned the weekend, has been reported to gardaí and led to anger among locals, who set up a Facebook page to highlight the dumping (the page includes some photos of the more graphic debris).
Derrynane resident Ross Duffy, who started the page, told Radio Kerry that the aftermath looked “like Glastonbury”.
It looked like the remnants of a festival – something you’d see at Glastonbury or Electric Picnic. Tents strewn everywhere, tents ripped open.
“Beer cans and bottles and bottles were spread out over around 100 metres.
And when we started to walk down into it, we began to see human waste scattered around the dunes.
Just last week, the Minister of State at the Office of Public Works, Kevin “Boxer” Moran, visited Derrynane House to raise a Green Flag awarded for “parks that are managed in environmentally sustainable ways”.
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Among the rubbish left behind were gym memberships, receipts and even a list of people who had paid to take a private bus to the site. Locals say that they have passed these names on to gardaí.
Locals who volunteered to clean up the rubbish said they were “ashamed”.
“I’ve met a group of French surfers and a group of Dutch walkers already this morning, they were just gazing at this carnage in shock, they asked me ‘how is this allowed happen’, I had no answer for them, I was just horrified and got to work picking up trash and dismantling tents.”
Another volunteer stated, “I went into that section of the dunes over there to pick-up empty cans and bottles but I realised it was used a toilet, there is human waste everywhere, I started vomiting and had to leave the area, who are these kids, what’s wrong with them?”
A statement from the OPW, which runs the site, said:
The Office of Public Works is aware of the anti-social behaviour, littering, etc. that occurred on Derrynane Dunes over the Bank Holiday weekend. The Office of Public Works is working closely with Kerry County Council and An Garda Síochána to address the matter and the actions required.
Norma Moriarty, a local Fianna Fáil councillor, said that the issue comes up every year at the site.
“It’s happened a couple of years in a row, but this can’t be allowed to go on.
“We welcome tourism of all kinds, we survive on tourism, but you have to respect the places you travel to. There is no excuse for what happened.
“Respect our place when you come here. If these people wish to camp, the best quality caravan parks are available to them.”
Kerry County Council said it had no function in the maintenance of the site.
An Garda Síochána did not respond to a query asking if the complaints were being pursued.
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