The redevelopment dilemma of the Marrowbone Lane depot site in Dublin 8 mirrors the issues plaguing the nation. Located in the Liberties, mere steps from the Guinness Storehouse, this 11-acre area has been largely wasted for over a decade due to a complex mix of political stagnation, conflicting interests, and logistical impasses. While it could have served as an important asset to the tightly-packed and disadvantaged surrounding neighbourhood, it has been left to fall into disrepair.
Among the decaying structures and abandoned equipment, the council operates a depot service. Despite their declarations that it is still functioning, local residents note that no lorries come or go from the site. Abandoned light poles, rusted and covered in moss, litter the site, and certain spaces serve as improvised parking for council employees, contributing to a general state of neglect.
The former chief executive of Dublin City, Owen Keegan, proposed – as early as 2016 – to convert the space into a ‘super depot’ for city services, given its proximity to multiple large social housing estates. This was envisaged to streamline the depots onto a single site, allowing council-owned lands to be repurposed for social housing.
Despite this, the site has been frequently voted to be redesignated as a green space, as part of the existing urban development plan, and to be developed as a recreation area. While such votes were not intended to obstruct the council’s ideas, it was hoped that they might encourage a reassessment of the proposed depot expansion.
The council’s plan has 45 per cent of the land allocated for social housing, widely considered crucial, considering the ongoing housing shortage in the city. However, the concept of a larger depot, with its associated truck influx adjacent to residential areas, has now become a cause for concern.
Notwithstanding these schemes, local residents and community groups have prioritised the provision of a playing field, a simple amenity seen as a given in most other part of the country. They seek to reclaim the wasted space and create a community hub in its place, showcasing even further the multi-faceted nature of the situation.
The local rugby team, Liberty Saints, often practise on a local expanse of grass that is as big as two tennis courts, only to play their games in other clubs due to lack of a home ground. St Kevin’s, a local GAA team, rents a field on Dublin 12’s Crumlin Road, whereas Usher Celtic, a locality based football club, occupies a pitch on the north side of the city at TUD‘s Grangegorman campus.
As of 2022, the 15 voting zones encompassing southwest Dublin’s inner city, known as Dublin 8, is populated by over 47,000 people. Yet, the number living within a kilometre of St Kevin’s clubhouse on Donore Avenue surpasses 50,000. Among these, approximately 8,000 are youngsters below 19 years. Despite this substantial figure, there isn’t a community pitch of regular size for anyone in the vicinity.
It is universally agreed that access to sports facilities by the younger generations accrues significant benefits to both the society and the economy. However, Dublin 8 seriously lacks such amenities.
Tom Magee, a member of Sporting Liberties, an umbrella organisation that championed the cause for a playing field, likens Dublin 8 to a household drawer filled with various items such as addiction treatment centres, housing for homeless, student hostels, commercial hotels, and breweries. Yet, there are no amenities for lifelong residents. He urges the investors to see the extent to which crime and drugs have ruined the area and believes strongly that sports could change lives for the younger residents of Dublin’s southwest.
He goes on to argue that the sporting facilities in the locality could yield a sense of camaraderie, fun, liberation, and community for young locals, which is a commodity enjoyed by other communities.
Despite this, the city council persists in its stance that the depot site is crucial for the proper functioning of the city’s various operations and hence, can’t be allotted for a sports pitch. The council has also refuted Sporting Liberties’ requests for a full-size, multi-purpose pitch to support GAA, football, and rugby, citing the essential services that still take place on site and the redevelopment of the area still being in the pipeline.
Labour council member, Darragh Moriarty, acknowledges that a single location cannot rectify all the issues the region is dealing with. He understands the urgent need for housing but supports prioritising the construction of a full-sized playing field here because several other neighbouring spots are lined up for extensive public housing expansion in foreseeable future.
Moriarty insists that the council aims to create green areas and offer local youth access to sports facilities. He argues that the local authority isn’t shunning their responsibility towards providing sports facilities out of spite for the area’s children. The issue is rooted in land scarcity.
He adds that the solution can only be realized with the cooperation and teamwork of the local councillors, residents, and the city council management.
With the appointment of a new Dublin city council CEO, Richard Shakespeare, there’s a renewed optimism that the upcoming local elections might usher in a change of leadership. This could ideally lead to the creation of a more effective solution catering to both housing and recreational needs. Such an outcome would be considered a reasonable expectation.