The council wasn’t hiring a municipal walker, but she took the job anyway
Once a month since September 2022, artist Lian Bell has done a full circuit of the North and South Circular Roads, observing these 14km through the seasons.
The pitch on Long’s Place is owned by CBS James’s Street, which has not responded to queries about why, and how that could be changed.
A plan for Dublin 1 laneways was drawn up six years ago. The council is starting to roll it out, said a council spokesperson.
It has abandoned an idea to remove a small astroturf playing pitch after weigh-in from the local community.
“And to watch a pitch like that lying idle is a travesty,” says Ronan Rasdale, an under-8s coach.
An early version of the plan ran a new footpath through a field used for football, but the council has changed course to preserve this informal pitch.
“We love football so it cannot be closed,” says Antoine Dunne, aged 11.
“We came in one day and the locks had been changed,” says Rivermount Boys FC chairman Rory Maher. “We went looking for it back and we were told no.”
“Now is the time to do it,” says Labour Councillor Darragh Moriarty. “Attendance at games is skyrocketing.”
“Ladies football and camogie is going gangbusters,” says Erin’s Isle chairperson Paul Campbell. “You have to find space for them and we struggle.”
“This is the first strategic plan to look at the provision of sport, physical activity and recreation in the city and to plan it out in a strategic way.”
“It’s crazy, with all the struggles that are within the inner city, something should be done,” says Eddie Keogh, chairman of the club.
For many years, the club has called the pitches in the Alfie Byrne Park home. Now it’s asking Dublin City Council for a lease.