If there’s one lesson to be learned this time of year, it’s “It’s better to give than to receive.”
Some Dubliners seemed to get that sentiment and were in-tune with the holiday spirit by hanging unwanted winter coats on a pedestrian bridge with the idea that someone in need will come along and find it useful.
That is, until some scrooges in the form of city officials ordered the removal hundreds of anoraks, parkas and fleeces lining the railings of the Ha’Penny Bridge, which spans the Liffey River.
Citing public safety concerns, Dublin City Council was concerned about the flow of pedestrian traffic, according to the Guardian.
The response from local activists was swift.
“Their intentions are simply to hide the issue of homelessness in the city,” PJ Maguire Kavanagh, an activist, told the Guardian. “Any attempt to hide that inaction is swiftly quashed.”
Today we spoke to the brother of the Dublin City Council worker who has received a tirade of abuse and even some threats after he was ordered to remove coats for the homeless from the Ha'Penny Bridge.
— Dublin Talks™ 98FM (@DublinTalks98FM) December 11, 2019
This is shocking!! #warmforwinter
Listen Back Now:https://t.co/CtqriUL8j1
The campaign to clothe the homeless started last week.
Signs along the walkway of the Ha’Penny Bridge said, “If you need one, please take one. If you want to help, please hang one up,” according to The Irish Post.
The Post credited the Facebook page Warm for Winter with spearheading the goodwill to assist the homeless while it is cold outside. They targeted “suitable and dry” locations in Irish communities that are frequented by the homeless population.
More than 40 coats were hung from the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin last night, as part of an ongoing campaign to help the homeless. It's called "Warm For Winter" and @philipbromwell has more... pic.twitter.com/UIwsMq6Hdi
— RTÉ news2day (@news2dayRTE) December 10, 2019
Patrick Fryers, who started the initiative, told The Post he was hoping to grow the operation and encouraged people in other areas to climb aboard.
“Even if it’s only one coat, bring it to anywhere you think someone might need it and hang it up,” he told the publication. “Imagine everyone else doing the same thing, it’s not a big task.”
Meanwhile, Fryers is keeping the environment in mind, too. He said he is against the idea of covering the garments with plastic to prevent the coats from getting wet. He’s fearful that the plastic could become detached and blow into the Liffey River.
