Hallowe'en madness in Kerry led to thousands of pounds worth of damage and inconvenience and may have been responsible for an assault on two garda∅.
Listellick National School on the outskirts of Tralee was the victim of "mindless vandalism" according to its principal, Mr Micheβl ╙ CinnΘide.
The school's activities room, housed in a pre-fab, was set alight and considerable damage done, leaving 264 pupils and 11 staff without a drama/music room. "This was mindless vandalism. There was no attempt to remove or steal valuable equipment. It was downright blackguardism," Mr ╙ CinnΘide said.
It was the first incident of its kind at the school and staff and the parents, who had collected funds for the room, were angry and upset. Also at Listellick, a 25,000 lb digger/forklift, the property of a contractor who was doing site works at the school, was burned out.
In Tralee, two garda∅ were assaulted by three men in their 20s at about midnight. One of the garda∅ received stitches.
The Fenit lifeboat was called to a hoax at 6 a.m. yesterday after a parachute-type flare was released off the Kerry coast. "You have to err on the side of safety and go and investigate it," a lifeboat service spokesman said, adding that the hoax had caused volunteers a great deal of unnecessary trouble and cost.
Garda∅ are investigating the incidents.