Campaigners suffer wrath of vandals
The pro-Lisbon campaign group We Belong has lodged an official complaint with gardaí after 300 of its posters were vandalised by what it claimed was an organised group with ladders.
Some posters were pasted over, some were burned, and others were ripped down. About €5,000 worth of damage was done, a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the Cork Chamber, which is supporting a Yes vote, has made a separate complaint to gardaí after several of its large banners were ripped from city bridges.
The plastic banners, some of which were up to 10 metres long, were installed on North Gate Bridge, Eamon de Valera Bridge and Michael Collins Bridge. They cost about €3,000, the chairman of the Chamber’s Yes campaign Kevin Mills said.
The banners were ripped down on the same night just over a week ago. “There was obviously a concerted campaign to remove them,” Mr Mills said.
Some of the Chamber’s Yes vote billboard posters were also damaged.
Three of Clare’s TDs, including Minister of State Tony Killeen, have been targeted by the No campaign.
The attacks, believed to have been carried out in the early hours of Wednesday morning, targeted the offices of Mr Killeen and his Fianna Fáil colleague Timmy Dooley.
The most serious incident occurred at the constituency office of Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen. The front of Mr Breen’s office was spray-painted while several ‘No to Lisbon’ posters were glued to the front of the premises.
Garda Crime Scene Investigation officers have already conducted a technical examination of the scene, while gardaí were also examining CCTV footage from the surrounding streets in an effort to identify the culprits.
Commenting on the vandalism Mr Breen said: “This is a sinister development and a new low in the campaign.”
A European flag in the window was defaced and the entire front of the office was vandalised by what Mr Breen has described as untruthful ‘No’ leaflets.
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