by Marianne Flood
Council yesterday pledged to help repair damage caused to the city centre Peace Garden during the Halloween celebrations.
A giant mock space ship called ‘Invasion Derry’ was erected in the Foyle Street based garden and attracted large crowds of visitors from October 30 to November 5.
However, the increased footfall in the garden resulted in grass being churned up and shrubs kicked over.
A spokesperson for Derry City and Strabane District Council said that it is aware that some areas of the Peace Garden are in need of repair after Halloween and a full assessment will be carried out over the coming days.
“The site falls under the remit of the Department for Communities, and Council will work closely with the department to ensure that the park is returned to its original condition as soon as possible.”
Reverend David Latimer, the man behind the Peace Flame that burns at the centre of the Peace Garden said the destruction of the garden was ‘indicative of the world we live in’.
“The face the Peace Garden and has been disturbed is indicative of the world we live in," he said.
“It is a lovely garden and distresses me to hear about this, but we don’t live in a perfect world. Imperfection is all around us.
“But we have to keep pushing towards peace. We can go in any direction, as long as it is towards peace.”
Reverend Latimer said he would also like to see Peace Flame, which was not affected by the Halloween celebrations, better maintained
“Just this morning I had a meeting with the board of the City Centre Initiative and pointed out that the Peace Flame has been burning intermittently.
“This doesn’t bother me. It just underlines the fact that peace is not a straight line.
“Sometimes it is one step forward, one step back.
“But we have to keep making a big effort and keep peace uppermost in our lives.”
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