Children’s safety put at risk by road alignment

John Whelan, the schoolboy club welfare officer of Marks Celtic spoke to The Echo about the club’s concerns surrounding the newly aligned road, and called for the installation of safety features – including speed ramps – to improve its safety.

Speaking to The Echo, John said: “St Marks Celtic has previously had direct access between the clubhouse and pitch for the past 40 years.

“Two weeks ago, the new road was opened unexpectedly and because of that we have had to move our training to the Astro pitch a month earlier than planned. This impacts on the club as well.

“We have had so many near misses, including an incident where a driver drove straight through a red light. When we attend matches, it is the referee’s job to make sure that the kids play safely and ensure that their studs are okay and their shin guards are on.

“South Dublin County Council should be the referee in this situation and check for the safety of our community.

“The road is 1.1km long. There is one ramp on the entire road, and if a second or third ramp was installed it would reduce speeding.

“Our members are getting used to it and we have a lot of adults that have been helping the kids cross the road. We’re also going to put signage up this week to highlight the kids crossing the road but we’re in a particularly vulnerable position.

“We have eight teams this weekend visiting and that’s a lot of kids in the area over the weekend. “Our greatest fear would be that somebody gets hurt, and so we have to take stock and push the council to move on it.”

South Dublin County Council previously confirmed at a Tallaght Area Committee meeting back in September that it will not be in a position to make alterations to the road until the road is taken in charge by the council for maintenance purposes.