Mystery surrounds disappearance of signs

MYSTERY surrounds the disappearance of three

‘Welcome to Raheny’ signs that vanished from the area.

Both Dublin City Council and a local councillor reported the theft of the four-foot signs to the gardai last week.

The theft only became apparent recently as it was widely thought that the council had removed the signs for routine maintenance.

The large signs have been removed from the Hilltop, Watermill Road and Shieling Square in Raheny.

Seamus Griffith, chairman of the Raheny Tidy Village Group, said he was disappointed and bewildered to learn that the signs have been stolen.

“It’s bizarre and really quite hard to fathom how or why anyone would steal signs like that,

? he told Northside People.

“We initially looked around the local area to see if the signs had been dumped anywhere but it seems like whoever cut them down stole them for a reason.

“All that’s left now is the poles that they were attached to and the flower beds which had been planted beneath them.

?

Local councillor Pat Crimmins (FG) described how he had thought for some time that the council had removed the signs.

“I thought they were being refurbished,

? he said.

“That’s why I only reported it to the gardai last week.

“I just don’t understand the stupidity of stealing signs like that.

?

It’s thought that the signs could have been sold as scrap metal.

“It’s very strange,

? Cllr Crimmins added.

“You hear of signs being taken down the country and ending up in bars in America but I can’t imagine a

‘Welcome to Raheny’ sign turning up somewhere like that or being in someone’s back garden.

?

A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said they were aware the signs have been missing for some time. However, it only reported the theft to gardai last week.

“There are three further

‘Welcome to Raheny’ signs so it is not intended to replace the missing signs,

? the spokesperson stated.

“The gardaí are being notified.

?