Motion passed by Cllrs to buy the De La Salle lands
By Maurice Garvey
MOTIONS calling on Dublin City Council to buy the De La salle lands in Ballyfermot, were passed at the monthly council meeting on Monday evening.
Sinn Féin and People Before Profit tabled emergency motions on the agenda, seeking to preserve the De La Salle lands for community use.
The De La Salle monastery has been the subject of recent arson attacks
The land was sold by the De La Salle Brothers to a private developer last year, who is believed to be interested in building apartments at the site.
However, DCC has said that a “huge amount of work has to be done” prior to the possibility of any building works commencing, and that residents will be consulted beforehand.
A number of arson attacks on the monastery in recent weeks fueled local anger at what is to become of the site.
Located in the centre of the community, it is home to the area’s first school, which is due to close at the end of June.
Sinn Fein Cllrs Daithí Doolan and Greg Kelly said they were happy that members voted unanimously on their motion, calling on DCC to buy the De La Salle site and preserve the buildings.
People Before Profit Cllr Hazel De Nortúin, also submitted an emergency motion on behalf of local interest group ‘Keep Ballyfermot’, to put the buildings on the list of protected structures.
DCC previously said the monastery was not considered a protected structure.
Ken Larkin, from the Ballyfermot heritage group, helped organise a last walkabout for past pupils at De La Salle National School on February 1.
He said: “There was a great interest in photos from the event around the world on the Ballyfermot and St Marks Heritage site. We got 57,000 hits from 12am to 12pm on Saturday, February 2.”
