Vandals wreak havoc at Loughcrew Gardens

Thousands of euro worth of damage was caused to an historic garden last weekend when vandals smashed sculptures, urns and seating at Loughcrew Gardens, Oldcastle. The gardens were restored 10 years ago as part of the Irish Historic Gardens scheme, and some of the features recovered included very rare elements of 17th century design, almost none of which survive elsewhere in Ireland. The intruders struck late last Saturday or possibly early on Sunday and among the items they destroyed were a sculpture by Ann Hugh (pictured above), an artist who was formerly based near Oldcastle, as well as flowerbeds, seats, garden decorations and other items. Many of the urns andf furniture were thrown about, and some landed in a nearby stream. The vandalism follows a recent incident in which windows in the Loughcrew Gardens" coffee shop were smashed, according to Mrs Emily Naper this week. She said she was shocked that so much work, including beautiful designs and flowerbeds, had all been destroyed and was completely at a loss to understand who would do such damage. Local Gardai examined the scene and are following a number of lines of inquiry concerning the presence of young people in the area around the time concerned.