Castle Christmas tree vandalised over weekend

Vandals caused a substantial amount of damage to the landmark Christmas tree in Athlone Castle over the weekend before the lights were even turned on in the town for the first time! Staff in the castle discovered the large tree on Monday morning had been knocked over and kicked around with damage caused to the base and the electrics. It"s understood the culprits may have climbed the walls or scaled the gate to gain entry to the castle, where the tree was placed last week by local authority staff ahead of the official turning on of the Christmas lights by the Mayor Egbert Moran this Friday evening. However, thanks to the hard work of a electrician and council staff the distinctive blue tree has now been repaired and is now back standing upright looking out over the town just in time for the festive season. CEO of Athlone Chamber of Commerce, Siobhán Bigley described the vandalism this week as a 'terrible shame' especially in the wake of increased investment by Athlone Town Council and local businesses in new lights this year. 'I would feel the castle was relatively secure and I"d be very concerned that people could get in. The lights look very well this year and there are quite a number of new lights stretching right down to John Broderick Street,' she said, congratulating the council on the increased money spent on the lights this year. However, she concluded now it"s imperative the town was lit up as soon as possible to kickstart the festive atmosphere and Christmas business in Athlone.