Up to 400 young people have been gathering for 'Club Piero' parties in Schull, with huge amounts of litter left behind after the late night parties.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South-West Christopher O'Sullivan is among those who have spoken out about the 'Club Piero' parties.
In a Facebook post, he said: "I don't want to be a party pooper but large, late-night gatherings at Schull Pier need to stop now. I've received reports of up to 400 people gathering on the pier late at night for "Club Piero" - partying into the early hours without masks and with no physical distancing.
"Under COVID guidelines this is not permitted. Those guidelines are important and protect everyone. It's also affecting businesses near the pier, with much needed guests at venues being turned off by the noise created by the partying in this shared public space."
‘CLUB PIERO’ - AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN
Cllr Danny Collins told Neil the large late-night gatherings at Schull pier, nicknamed ‘Club Piero’, is "an accident waiting to happen.” He said that the People in Schull are anxious & demanding action. pic.twitter.com/7maND4bP0X— Neil Prendeville (@NeilRedFM) August 13, 2020
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The littering was not limited to the pier as the local Centra shared a picture of shrubs that had been planted by locals ripped out and strewn across the road.
The owners of the shop said: "Extremely disappointing and upsetting to come to work this morning to find weeks of hard work had been vandalised over night. All the new shrubs had been ripped out and scattered along with rocks and boulders all over the new Entrance."
Local councillor Danny Collins described the parties as an "accident waiting to happen", adding that the people of Schull are anxious and demanding action is taken.
Mr Collins said: "This has been going on for years in Schull, 'Club Piero' as they call it. This year with pubs closed it has become a large gathering area for youths mainly, from all over the country and a few locals as well. They're bringing their beer and partying down there until all hours of the morning."
"This is upsetting a lot of residents, noise and music until all hours. There is a very successful hotel that's full at the moment and this is not good for it," he added.
"It's no help having our bars closed at the moment, I can see the youths' problem - they have nowhere to go. This isn't only Schull, it's happening all over West Cork. There's no law and order and with a few drinks involved this is what's happening.
"The gardaí are doing the best they can, they don't have the man power to deal with it either. They're trying to disperse the crowds but it's happening over and over again."
Mr Collins said he has received an email from the local hotel about complaints about the noise, he said "this is not giving a good picture of Schull".
