Source: Dave McManus

A NUMBER OF strange cartoon posters with anti-cyclist messages have been erected around Howth Head in north Co Dublin in recent days.

Fingal County Council confirmed to TheJournal.ie that no permission was granted for the notices and that work was underway to have them removed.

Local Dave McManus snapped shots of them when he was out for a cycle from Sutton Cross to the summit of the headland yesterday morning.

He didn’t understand what they were about at first, he said – but as he spotted more, the message became apparent.

“After everything that’s been in the news about cyclists in the last few days – like gardaí saying they should wear high-vis vests – I thought maybe someone had decided it was time to have a go at them,” he said.

McManus said he was particularly concerned over one poster (above) which showed two elephants cycling in front of traffic with the caption “I look good in lycra”.

Despite the cartoonish style and jokey tone, he said we was worried that people who had decided to hop on their bike as part of a new fitness regime would be deterred.

“It’s great for fitness, and this sort of thing doesn’t help at all,” he said.

Someone might see that and think ‘Jesus, is that what people think of me?’… It’s just wrong.

Source: Dave McManus

Source: Dave McManus

There were more than 15 of the signs along the route from the Marine Hotel at Sutton Cross to the summit, he said.

The route is a popular one for cyclists and walkers – as well as motorists out for weekend drives.

“Everyone gets along,” McManus said. “So this is very strange.”

Whoever put them up “may be pissed off,” he said – “but there’s other ways of doing things”.

In its statement, Fingal County Council said:

“The anti-cyclist signs erected in Howth were erected without permission from Fingal County Council and arrangements are being made to take them down.”