Vandals burned a bench "to the ground" in a popular south Dublin park over the weekend.
The vandalism happened in the Griffeen Valley Park in Lucan on Sunday evening, and the bench will be replaced by South Dublin County Council at a cost of €1,500.
A spokesperson for the Council told Dublin Live: "Unfortunately through an act of vandalism, a bench was burned in Griffeen Valley Park in the last few days.
"This bench will be removed and replaced with a new one as soon as possible, costing in the region of €1,500."
Locals went online to voice their anger at the vandalism, saying "this is why we cannot have nice things".
One local said they saw the remains of the bench before it was cleared, and a gas canister was at the scene
They said: "I walked up there this morning before the burned bench was cleared up. They did some job to burn it to the ground. The amount of glass and broken bottles, a big gas canister beside the bench. It's always like that, disgusting, so dangerous.
Another wrote: "We don't deserve nice things. In other countries they leave outdoor restaurant tables and chairs outside overnight. They don't get stolen or vandalised. What are we?"
A garda spokesperson told Dublin Live: "Gardai attended the scene of reports of a fire in Griffeen Park Lucan on Sunday 16 January 2022 at 17:40pm.
"When Gardai arrived there were no fires anywhere in the park."
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