The tricolour on lamp posts on the Greenhills Road
Removing tricolour ‘potentially could create tensions’
Council staff won’t remove tricolours flown without permission on light poles as it “potentially could create tensions”.
South Dublin County Council doubled down on their decision not to remove the flags that are cropping up in communities around the county, despite renewed calls from councillors.
Cllr Mick Duff (Ind) called on the council to remove “without delay, the seven tricolour flags on the Greenhills Road, opposite the Cuckoo’s Nest and Temple Woods” at the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on Monday, December 15.
It follows calls from Cllr Emma Murphy (FF) to remove similarly erected flags at the entrance to Whitechurch Estate in Rathfarnham.
Cllr Duff said that the flags on the Greenhills Road were erected “without support from the local residents, who are calling for their removal”.
“These flags appeared out of nowhere one Saturday morning,” he said, adding that he put in a request for their removal with council staff.
The written response to Cllr Duff’s motion read that only flags “posing an obstruction or a public safety hazard will be removed”.
“Following a broad review of the locations where flags are currently erected and various other considerations including input from other Dublin local authorities and An Garda Síochána, there are no significant related health and safety concerns arising at present,” the reply read.
“Therefore, rather than engaging in flag removals that potentially could create tensions, we will be proactive in promoting our national flag as a unifying symbol that supports inclusion, equality and respect, as well as continuing to support community integration.”
Responding to the written reply, Cllr Duff said he believes the flying of “these imitation tricolours, these cheap Chinese junks – not even the cable ties are made in this country – represent one thing and one thing only, that if you don’t have a Dublin accent and you don’t have white skin, you’re not welcome”.
While he “was not in the business” of putting council staff at risk, he suggested that An Garda Síochána could back up the council’s Public Realm staff when removing the flags, calling for fines for those who erect the flags.
Many councillors agreed with Cllr Duffs reasoning for removal, with Cllr Niamh Whelan (SF) saying that the hanging of flags in this manner “feels very like a British nationalist thing to do”.
Cllr Adam Smyth (FF) highlighted the protocols for officially flying the tricolour, noting that he sees many “half-ripped” flags on lamp posts across that county that are “disrespectful to the flag of our country”.
Independent councillors Dean Donnolly and Paddy Holohan both disagreed outright with Cllr Duff’s motion, with Cllr Holohan saying that anyone who comes to a country and “gets offended by the national flag flying needs to give their head a wobble”.
While Cllr Jess Spear (PBP-S) criticised those hanging the flags for cultivating a culture of fear and racism and for “targeting working class areas in Dublin”, she said she couldn’t support council staff removing them as “it puts them at risk” and Dublin City Council staff had already been subject to threats while removing flags, concerns that were echoed by her party colleague Cllr Kay Keane.
Cllr Duff asked that his motion be put to a vote from councillors, with committee chair Louise Dunne (SF) abstaining due to her mixed feelings over the motion.
Cllr Whelan also abstained, and the motion was not passed with two votes for and five votes against from the remaining councillors present.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
