Tsunami of rubbish - Barbarians

It’s almost a year since a seaside community pleaded for help to tackle a tsunami of litter.

Crowds using a strand to enjoy the June 2017 weekend heatwave carpeted their local beach with rubbish.

On that occasion Cork’s Myrtleville Coastal Action Group collected almost 40 bags of cans and bottles, wrappers, and even dirty nappies.

Amazingly, and shamefully, that community found itself in the very same position, almost drowning in rubbish, after this bank holiday weekend.

This behaviour is an expression of deep ignorance and complete indifference to the idea of civic morality.

At a time when all public services are stretched it seems unreasonable to expect gardaí to act as ban an tí to keep these litter vandals in check.

However, it should not be beyond the capabilities of the local authority to ensure that litter wardens are in place when large crowds are anticipated — even if such a need is an indication of caustic social behaviour.

The alternative — abandoning the beach and the local community to the barbarians — is not an option.