A junior playground for the Croppies Acre?
Our public parks and green spaces continue to be of huge importance to inner city families, given the limited outside space at our own homes. The Phoenix Park, Arbour Hill Church grounds, Grangegorman, Thor Place and Halliday Square Park in the Stoneybatter area have become even more of a lifeline to our families, especially during these days of Covid19 restrictions. Indeed, other public spaces have become invaluable too – those like the Croppies Acre along the Quays, for example.
While these public spaces are welcome, families with younger kids need greater play areas with dedicated equipment in a safe environment. Currently, the north-west inner city, only Ormond Square and the Peoples’ Gardens in the Phoenix Park have a proper playground. I am working to improve that with a view to the installation and development of a junior playground in the Croppies Acre, alongside the Civil Defence HQ.
Today, I put this proposal to the Parks Department of Dublin City Council. I am pleased to report that officials believe:
“the Croppies Acre is a very visible and could accommodate a junior playground”
Furthermore, the Council can now examine whether such a playground can be facilitated. Over the coming weeks, I will look to work with the Parks Department to identify the cost and seek to prepare a feasibility plan for a dedicated play area and purpose built playground that could potentially serve young families living in the Stoneybatter, Arbour Hill, Montpelier and Infirmary Road areas.
Categories
Arbour Hill, Dublin City Council, Fine Gael, Grangegorman, Montpelier, North Circular Road, Stoneybatter
raymcadam View All
Fine Gael Councillor - North Inner City
Chair, Urban Form & Planning Strategic Policy Committee
Councillor Ray McAdam 
You should be, ashamed of yourself. A playground in a cemetery. There’s murder going on on Facebook. I’m a FG voter but after the Black and Tans stint and now this I’m seriously thinking about changing my allegiances.
LikeLike
Ivano,
Thanks for your message.
I have no intention in any way shape or form of disrespecting our patriot dead. In fact, following the opening of the park in 1998 and its closure by the OPW in October 2012, I have worked to get it re-opened to the public. I worked to ensure that the City Council treats the renovation and upgrade works with sensitivity and care. Indeed, I have been working officials, Ministers, TDs and others since April 2013 to address problems in the park and subsequently to make sure commitments to enhance it were honoured and I was delighted to attend the official re-opening by the Lord Mayor of the Memorial Park in 2016, despite what was a terribly wet day!!
Throughout my near eleven years as a representative on Dublin City Council, my inbox has been littered with emails and queries about the serious and repeated anti-social behaviour occurring in the Croppies Acre. This is despite the works that have been undertaken to date by the Council to enhance the space and re-open it to the public. My genuine concern is that if we, the Council and Councillors dont think outside the box in terms of the future of the Croppies Acre, then it will once again be closed with no public access and we, as a community in Dublin 7 will have one less public green space to utilise. So many families want to use the space. In the messages I have received about the problems with anti-social behaviour, parents and grandparents have written about playing football with their kids or cycling in the park or even doing yoga together and its the fact that they want to keep this great space open that they have written to me about multiple groups of teenagers drinking, the public urination, other visibly injecting themselves with drugs asking for action to be taken. The Gardai from the Bridewell have repeatedly cleared out the park but the problems persist. DCC increased the numbers of Parks personnel but had to pull back because they were being attacked, etc. Furthermore, in recent months and during the lockdown, parents have wrriten to me to say they have stopped bringing their kids out for their daily permitted exercise in the Croppies Acre becasue of the continued risk of needles and anti-social behaviour.
I hope this gives you a clearer sense of the rationale behind my raising this proposal. The work I have done to secure the re-opening of the Croppies Acre since 2013, to maintain it as a civic public space following its ‘official’ re-opening by the Lord Mayor in 2016 and why I want to avoid any potential for its closure again.
We should honour our patriot dead and I will do nothing to endanger their memory but I also want to ensure that the the memorial space is not lost to Dubliners but rather it is reclaimed for our communities from those hell bent on anti-social behaviour.
As always, thank you for your engagement with me.
Take care and stay safe,
Ray
LikeLike
I like so many other Irishmen and women think it’s a absolute disgrace that it entered your head to put a play park on this site, without these brave men you would still be under British tyranny , but then that’s what your party aspire to be .
It’s hard to believe you care so little about those brave men and women who give there lives to rid this land of British occupation
LikeLike
Patrick,
Thanks for your message.
I have no intention in any way shape or form of disrespecting our patriot dead. In fact, following the opening of the park in 1998 and its closure by the OPW in October 2012, I have worked to get it re-opened to the public. I worked to ensure that the City Council treats the renovation and upgrade works with sensitivity and care. Indeed, I have been working officials, Ministers, TDs and others since April 2013 to address problems in the park and subsequently to make sure commitments to enhance it were honoured and I was delighted to attend the official re-opening by the Lord Mayor of the Memorial Park in 2016, despite what was a terribly wet day!!
Throughout my near eleven years as a representative on Dublin City Council, my inbox has been littered with emails and queries about the serious and repeated anti-social behaviour occurring in the Croppies Acre. This is despite the works that have been undertaken to date by the Council to enhance the space and re-open it to the public. My genuine concern is that if we, the Council and Councillors dont think outside the box in terms of the future of the Croppies Acre, then it will once again be closed with no public access and we, as a community in Dublin 7 will have one less public green space to utilise. So many families want to use the space. In the messages I have received about the problems with anti-social behaviour, parents and grandparents have written about playing football with their kids or cycling in the park or even doing yoga together and its the fact that they want to keep this great space open that they have written to me about multiple groups of teenagers drinking, the public urination, other visibly injecting themselves with drugs asking for action to be taken. The Gardai from the Bridewell have repeatedly cleared out the park but the problems persist. DCC increased the numbers of Parks personnel but had to pull back because they were being attacked, etc. Furthermore, in recent months and during the lockdown, parents have wrriten to me to say they have stopped bringing their kids out for their daily permitted exercise in the Croppies Acre becasue of the continued risk of needles and anti-social behaviour.
I hope this gives you a clearer sense of the rationale behind my raising this proposal. The work I have done to secure the re-opening of the Croppies Acre since 2013, to maintain it as a civic public space following its ‘official’ re-opening by the Lord Mayor in 2016 and why I want to avoid any potential for its closure again.
We should honour our patriot dead and I will do nothing to endanger their memory but I also want to ensure that the the memorial space is not lost to Dubliners but rather it is reclaimed for our communities from those hell bent on anti-social behaviour.
As always, thank you for your engagement with me.
Take care and stay safe,
Ray
LikeLike
If the field was good enough for Manchester United one night then it is OK for a playground. It is a very big field that no one gave a second thought to it for a long number of years. It was used for sport and recreation for over a hundred years. A small corner of the field will not upset anyone. I am sure those buried there would be more than please to here the pater of children’s feet and their laughter.
LikeLike