Vandals cause damage to Dunboyne GAA clubhouse for second time

Dunboyne GAA"s clubhouse has been broken into for the second time in three months and while the culprits made off without anything, once again they caused extensive damage to the premises. At around 3.30am on Sunday morning, the alarm was activated and CCTV footage viewed after the incident showed four youths climbing over the wall, jumping onto the roof and cutting the phone lines to deactivate the alarm. They forced the door to the clubhouse and damaged the shutter behind it, as they gained entry to the premises. Three internal doors were extensively damaged and need to be replaced, including two doors to the dressing rooms and a door to a meeting room upstairs. The alarm was activated but the culprits managed to get away before anyone arrived on the scene. Last August the clubhouse was also broken into and several thousands of euro of damage was done on that occasion as well. Again the burglars made off with nothing but they damaged the CCTV system which had to be replaced, damaged a fire device and left the taps running in the bar. Club Chairman Peter Moran said the damage this time was not as bad as in August but said it was very 'disheartening' for club members. 'It is not what they got. You would nearly be better if they got money because it is when they don"t get anything, that they cause the damage,' said Mr Moran. 'This is the second time in three months though the other break-in was more serious. This time was not as bad but they damaged three doors which will have to be replaced, we will have to redo the alarm and devices on the wall were knocked. But this time the CCTV unit was not touched.' In the early hours of Sunday morning, Mr Moran got the call that the alarm had been activated but when he got to the clubhouse, the youths were gone. He said that gardai had arrived promptly at the scene. While the CCTV footage showed four youths, their faces were covered and they could not be identified. Mr Moran said that the youths had tried to get at money and the till was disturbed but it wasn"t opened. However, he said there would not have been money in the till anyway. While the premises was insured, Mr Moran explained that you have to pay the excess first and 'even with insurance, you are still at a loss'. 'It"s disheartening to see something like this happen. It"s not as if we make a lot of money from the bar, there would not be big money there,' he said. Dunboyne GFC currently has just one pitch and is planning to develop a further eight acres into training pitches and an all-weather pitch. 'The damage wasn"t as bad as the last time but we still have to spend a few bob that could have been better spent in the club,' said Mr Moran. Meanwhile, local councillor Noel Leonard is calling for a greater garda presence in the Dunboyne area, particularly at night. He also condemned the vandals and said: 'An awful lot of people work very hard to get these facilities for the community and it is a shame that these people come along and damage their hard work.'