Between 80 to 100 fairy doors remain missing in Shannon despite the best retrieval efforts of local volunteers over the weekend, fairies have been ruled out of the reckoning for completing the act according to Tidy Towns officers.
Earlier this month, all fairy doors dotted along the River Walk between Cluain Airne and Illaunmanagh in Shannon vanished. An Garda Síochána have been notified of the disappearance of the doors but few inroads have been made as part of their investigation.
In 2019, Shannon Men’s Shed collaborated with local crèches in the vicinity to make the fairy doors. The painting was completed by the children with the members of the Men’s Shed depicted different parts of the town and buildings such as the Seán Lemass Public Library, the Rescue 115 helicopter and the Shannon Garda station in their designs.
On Saturday, volunteers of Shannon Tidy Towns carried out a big search to try locate the missing fairy doors. Their efforts saw five of the doors retrieved as they scoured the bushes, trees and surrounding areas of the popular walking route.
Secretary of Shannon Tidy Towns, Derek Clune is of the view that the act was pre-planned and that it took place in a small window of time. “We suspected all along that whoever took them down took them away with them, they went to a lot of trouble to take them down from the different areas”.
“It is very strange, it is a complete mystery,” he said. “Whoever did it, it took time to put them up and it would have taken them considerable time to take all the doors down, it would have had to be pre-planned to do it. Everybody is disgusted and upset with what happened”.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Derek ruled out the prospect that fairies were in fact responsible for taking the doors. “I think it is fair to say that it is definite that the fairies didn’t take the doors”.
While members of the public, local children, volunteers with Shannon Men’s Shed and the Tidy Towns remain both frustrated and disappointed with the act, Derek outlined that new fairy doors will replace the ones that have vanished.
Both the Men’s Shed and the crèches of Shannon have committed to designing and painting new doors, he confirmed. “It is disappointing and frustrating but whoever they are they won’t deter us, we will go froward and pit them back up again”. Consideration will also be given to placing CCTV to the numerous entry points to the River Walk.
