Club claim they have been treated with ‘contempt and disdain’
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A LOCAL GAA club, whose pitches in Killinarden Park have been repeatedly vandalised as a result of anti-social behaviour, claim they have been treated with “absolute contempt and disdain” by South Dublin County Council.
Croí Ró Naofa GAA Club, stated this in an email to the local authority, where they queried why a fenced pitch wasn’t allowed in Killinarden Park but has been permitted in a proposal for new pitches in Sean Walsh Park.
Members of Croi Ro-Naofa GAA Club training in Killinarden Park this week
As previously reported in The Echo, Killinarden Park has been the site of numerous instances of anti-social behaviour, and a total of 84 cars have been burnt out in the park since 2018.
The use of scrambler and quad bikes in the park are a regular occurrence, which has repeatedly damaged pitches that are used by Croí Ró Naofa GAA Club.
Volunteers from the club also routinely have to remove broken glass and drug paraphernalia, including used syringes, from the pitches.
The club recently submitted a proposal to South Dublin County Council for a fenced pitch in the park to quell the issues.
The proposal is for a full-size fenced GAA pitch in front of the Croí Ró Naofa clubhouse, on the perimeter of the boundary with Sacred Heart National School, for use by both the club and the school.
According to the club, the council deemed the fencing off of a portion of Killinarden Park for a pitch an “unsuitable project” for a public park.
However, new proposed pitches in Sean Walsh Park are to be surrounded by a five-metre-high perimeter fence, which has angered members of Croí Ró Naofa.
A recent email to the council from the club, that The Echo has seen, wrote: “The club has been treated with absolute contempt and disdain by the latest development by South Dublin County Council to fence in a synthetic grass sports pitch in Sean Walsh Park with a five-metre-high fence.
“It’s a clear contradiction to what we have been told, in the quest to play in a safe environment that an enclosed pitch can provide, and the biggest U-turn on statements to why Croí Ró Naofa cannot have an enclosed pitch since the water charges were scrapped.
“As far as I am aware, Sean Walsh Park has not had 84 burnt out cars on the proposed site.
“Sean Walsh Park does not have teams training there run for cover due to scramblers targeting them [and] having sessions cancelled.
“Sean Walsh Park does not have glass embedded in the turf on a daily basis to maim with the sole intent to cause injury.
“I find it absolutely astonishing everything the club was told in relation to having our proposal to our enclosed pitch rejected on [the] grounds that SDCC do not fence in pitches, by some miracle greater than Jesus turning water into wine, the same does not apply to the proposal at Sean Walsh Park, which is to be fully fenced and enclosed.
“If we cannot have a fenced-in, enclosed pitch due to council regulations, how is Sean Walsh Park allowed?”
Last year, the council embarked on a local consultation process to help shape a €2m plan for the development of Killinarden Park.
The public consultation stage, known as Part 8, of the development of the park closed last week.
A spokesperson for South Dublin County Council told The Echo that “engaging, empowering and involving the community and voluntary organisations will be a key factor in the successful development of the park.
“Railing off a particular area of the park and making its use exclusive would counter this approach,” the spokesperson said.
According to the local authority, the Part 8 for the park development includes a number of security measures, such as the installation of CCTV and lighting along “main strategic pathways”.
The spokesperson added that the enclosure of a pitch “would significantly alter the shape and approaches into the main body of the park and undermine these key features and concepts.
“The introduction of extensive railing would also add to the extent of blank edges while interrupting open views and passive surveillance across the park including from entrances.
“This would make the park less welcoming and undermine perceived and actual safety.
“SDCC do not rail off or fence grass pitches in our parks and open spaces and would see the proposal to rail off this GAA pitch as setting an adverse precedent within our public parks.”
In relation to the proposed pitches for Sean Walsh Park, the spokesperson said they will be astro pitches, unlike the grass pitches in Killinarden Park, and they expect them to be used “at a very high level of frequency”.
“The plan is for managed access [at the pitches in Sean Walsh Park] which will facilitate multi-sports and multi-club use,” the spokesperson explained.
“There will also be a fee payment element to the astros, so access control will be essential.
“In addition, the railing and ball net around the proposed Sean Walsh Park pitch has the added context of its location adjacent to N81.”
The Echo understands the council has offered to meet with Mr Beegan to address Croí Ró Naofa GAA Club’s concerns.
Construction on the €2m Killinarden Park project is expected to begin by the end of this year.
The plans for the astro pitches in Sean Walsh Park are currently at the public consultation stage, and submissions on the proposal can be made online at consult.sdublincoco.ie or by post by 5pm on July 2.
