Calls for Drimnagh hall to be used as temporary library

By Aideen O’Flaherty

FR Lar Redmond Hall on Keeper Road in Drimnagh should be used to house a temporary library for the area, according to a local councillor, reports Aideen O’Flaherty.

Sinn Fein councillor Ray McHugh claims that the site is vacant and is “constantly vandalised”, attracting anti-social behaviour and becoming a cause of concern for local residents.

Councillor McHugh said: “This site is wheelchair friendly, is served by public transport and could serve as a temporary library until a more suitable site becomes available.

“[This] could happen with the moving of Crumlin Childrens’ Hospital in four years’ time, or the development of the Crumlin Shopping Centre.”

Drimnagh is currently serviced by a mobile library at the junction of Mourne Road and Comeragh Road every Wednesday and Friday, while the nearest library buildings are situated in Walkinstown and Dolphin’s Barn.

A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council said: “The plan to provide a library service for the people of the Drimnagh and adjacent areas has long been identified as a key objective for Dublin City Public Libraries”, and added that Fr Lar Redmond Hall had not been considered as a site for the library as it is “an operating community centre.”

“Identifying an appropriate, available site has proven complicated.”

The spokeswoman also outlined criteria that must be met for any potential site for a public library, explaining: “These criteria include being a focal/central point of broad-based community activity, accessibility by public transport, proximity to primary streets and transit routes and having a high level of traffic and pedestrian footfall.”