In East Wall, locals oppose council idea to close the only football pitch that is free to use

Antoine Dunne is walking home from school with his friend Andor Der when the pair, both aged 11, stop at the small astroturf pitch attached to the East Wall Recreation Centre.

Dunne says he had not heard about council’s idea of closing the pitch. But he would be totally against it, he said. “We love football so it cannot be closed,” he says standing on the edge of the pitch.

The gate is open, and the boys go in and run around.  The pitch is always busy later in the afternoon when the older kids get out of school, they say.

Der says that young people of all different ages play here together. “We play here a lot,” he says.

On Tuesday on the phone, Dunne’s father, Anthony Devlin, says he lives near the small astroturf pitch and it’s well used because it’s free. Other full-size pitches nearby have to be booked for a fee.

“It used to be, years ago, that when the bigger lads came along the kids would get off,” says Devlin. But the teenagers who play there now include the younger players in their games too, he says. “It’s great for the area.”

At a recent community meeting, Dublin City Council officials mooted the idea of greening the space, allowing for a natural grass play area. But locals objected.

At a meeting for councillors for the Central Area on 12 December, Fine Gael Councillor Ray McAdam and independent Councillor Nial Ring both tabled motions calling on the council to keep the pitch.

Dublin City Council didn’t respond in time for publication to queries about whether it is still pursuing the idea of removing it.

Getting feedback

On 28 November, Dublin City Council held a workshop in the Sean O’Casey Community Centre, on plans to green Russell Avenue Park, a play area attached to the East Wall Recreation Centre, with a children’s playground and the astroturf pitch.

Daniel Ennis, vice chairman of East Wall Bessborough FC and a Social Democrats local election candidate, said that locals were very surprised by the council’s proposal. “The plan was to have the pitch removed and a green space put in.”

The council suggested more green space, flowers, and children’s play facilities within a park setting, photos show.

“Maybe replace the existing pitch with something smaller to gain space for other activities?” read one caption on an image.

Local people rejected that idea. They stuck post-its onto the displayed images, asking for the pitch to be retained and even made bigger, photos show. “The pitch needs to stay forever, it has been there forever,” says one yellow post-it.

It was good that there was a consultation, says Ennis. But he was surprised, he says, that the council staff didn’t realise that the problem faced by communities in the inner-city is a shortage of pitches.

There are other astro-turf pitches – but they are privately owned. The pitch on Russell Avenue East is the only place where young people can play informally, each evening, after school.

“For anyone to suggest to remove that pitch, to me it’s insane,” says Ennis.

Informal play is part of a footballer’s development and the younger players develop their skills by playing with the older ones, he says. “The kids that play in the pitch deter any anti-social behaviour. It’s a lovely part of East Wall.”

Local clubs also use the pitch for practice and East Wall Bessborough uses it for fun days, he says, including seasonal events like a haunted house at Halloween.

At the meeting

At the 12 December meeting of the Central Area Committee, two motions agreed unanimously called for the pitch to be retained and upgraded.

“I was down at the presentation and I was speaking to a lot of people in East Wall,” said Ring, the independent councillor. “They don’t want the pitch removed.”

“This committee supports the retention and upgrade of the football pitch there as part of any development,” says Ring in his motion.

Some locals don’t want the area converted into a park in case it attracts anti-social behaviour, he said at the meeting. The council shouldn’t spend money on something that local people don’t want, said Ring.

The motion from McAdam, the Fine Gael councillor, expressed “concern about the proposed removal of the playing pitch as part of proposals to revitalise and enhance the Russell Avenue play space and streetscape programme”.

At the meeting, McAdam said he had been told there was no definitive plan for the park as yet. “The parks department have been working on this for the best part of two years.”

He welcomed some of the proposals but said removing the pitch is not acceptable. “We have limited availability of all weather pitches,” said McAdam.

Independent Councillor Christy Burke said some international players learned to play on that pitch. “We need to let local residents know that their voices are being heard.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Janice Boylan said there is a very active community in East Wall and the council needs to listen to them. “It goes without saying that we have to take this back to the drawing board.”