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Despair at Carn's 'Dirty
Diamond'
30.07.08
by Simon McGeady, Inishowen Independent
THE Carndonagh landscape architect who designed the
town’s Diamond has criticised Donegal County Council
for allowing the public space to become grubby and
overgrown.
Gary Doherty (37) designed the ‘new’ Diamond, which
was opened by President Mary Robinson on the 6th of
June 1997. He returns to America today following a
three-week holiday at home.
Chief among his concerns are a number of coping
stones which have been dislodged or smashed and the
‘grubby’ look of the Donagh Cross patterned paving
on the floor of the diamond.
“The Diamond is designed to be low maintenance, but
not no maintenance. It was intended to be a
horizontal sculpture, and like any sculpture it
needs a certain amount of care, but it hasn’t been
getting that. |
“For the first few
years after it was completed the council did come
around with a power hose, but as far as I know the
last time it was washed was five or six years ago,”
said Mr Doherty, who is currently studying for a
doctorate at Harvard University, Massachusetts.
“About a month ago the coping |
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stone at the lower
entrance to the diamond was pushed off and broken,
and it’s still lying there. The coping stones were
cemented on to the top of the stone walls, but over
time the cement has got loose. They need to be
checked and re-cemented,” added the former UCD
student.
Mr Doherty said it was a shame that the distinctive
contrast between the granite and limestone paving
stones that make up the diamond’s Donagh Cross floor
design had now merged into grimy shades of grey.
“There are a few basic things that should be done
every year. The stone needs to be washed, the
railings painted and the greenery needs to be
tended. But I think the problem is that the council
don’t have a budget to do maintenance,” suggested Mr
Doherty. The Inishowen Independent contacted the
council’s roads services section for a response, but
no one was available for comment.
Mr Doherty continued: “A few trees have died and
they haven’t been replaced. It’s unfortunate because
they were a big aspect of the change in the diamond
and yet they were a very small part of the budget.
Outside McGonagle’s there was tree that died and
they just paved over the bed.”
Mr Doherty said the diamond was ‘keeping itself as
well as it could,’ but stressed the time had come
for a major clean up.
“I have to remove myself emotionally from it,
because for every stone that gets cracked, you would
get annoyed, and I can’t go over and start cutting
bushes because it belongs to the people of Carn.
“Maybe something will get done in time for the 12th
anniversary,” he added. |
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