It Takes a Village… Put Yourself in the Picture (The National Neighbourhood 2016/17)

‘ It takes a village ...’

Put Yourself in the Picture

By Dolly Duffy, George Finglas, Geraldine Gilsenan, Terry O’Brien, Gay Traynor, and Shabina Valentine with artist Dorothy Smith.

Balgriffin

Clongriffin

Ballymun

Coolock

Santry

Raheny

North Strand East Wall

Published by Dublin’s Culture Connects www.dublinscultureconnects.ie © 2017 – All rights reserved Dublin, Ireland

Bayside

Introduction

Many common themes and ideas emerged from this process.

They included

Over the eight weeks of Dublin’s Culture Connects’ National Neighbourhood project ‘It takes a village...’ the six members of the Coolock group investigated the public space of Coolock Village and their own local neighbourhoods using drawing, photography, writing, talks, walks, discussions as well as visits to IMMA (the Irish Museum of Modern Art), our partner National Cultural Institution.

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the neglect of the Santry river; the huge untapped potential of this river was identified as a particular concern and lost opportunity. The development of a walking/cycle route along its length would provide communities with a hugely valuable amenity, a transport link and importantly an alternative means of connecting with each other

We interact with public space and it surrounds us in our daily lives.

Whether publicly or privately owned, it has a huge impact on the lives we live. Public space, or the public realm, can encompass everything from parks to footpaths, bridges to bus stops, street frontages to derelict buildings and natural features.

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concern over dereliction and neglect, litter and dumping, vacant and unfinished developments

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empty houses in the midst of a homeless crisis

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the potential for engaging local communities in the maintainance of their own areas

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repurposing existing neglected and empty buildings to benefit local community

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recognising the very rich historical heritage in the area; its potential for education, amenity and sense of place

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the responsibilities of private and public bodies in maintaining spaces thereby contributing to or taking away from sense of community and belonging

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the desire to connect with other communities and the potential for cross-community projects to link people and places

This publication is the result of the photographic strand of our project Put Yourself in the Picture.

For Put Yourself in the Picture, group members took photographs of themselves both in places they would like to see changed and in places where positive change had already taken place. Each person wrote a short piece on how that place contributed or had the potential to contribute to the local community. From our base in Coolock Village, we spread out to encompass the neighbourhoods of all group members – East Wall, North Strand, Raheny, Clongriffin, Balgriffin, Santry, Bayside, and Ballymun.

People in any given community do not often have the forum to give voice to their ideas on the built environment and public spaces of their neighbourhoods. Put Yourself in the Picture seeks to create such a forum. It is the hope of the group that this publication will provoke conversation, ideas and further action.

Dorothy Smith, Artist, August 2017

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Coolock Village Each entrance to Coolock Village is marked with a beautiful cut granite stone. Like all villages in Ireland Coolock is steeped in history and is the heartbeat of the community.

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Public Plaza, Bunratty Road, Coolock Beautiful planting that enhances environment.

Bring Centre, Coolock Village This wonderful mural painted by artist Seån Molloy is located at Dublin City Council’s Bring Centre in Coolock Village. It depicts the historical Coolock landscapes of days long gone.

These murals are now to be seen in a number of Dublin City Council Bring Centres.

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Parnell’s GAA Club, Coolock Village Coolock has many beautiful buildings and positive features to include in this publication.The new Parnell’s GAA Club, which is steeped in Coolock history, is a state of the art campus and an academy of sport.

We are proud to highlight this facility as a place of excellence. Perhaps we will see another Parnell’s man, like Dublin Captain Stephen Cluxton, lift The Sam Maguire Cup in the near future.

Bee Hives, Cadbury’s, Coolock Village Who would have thought that bee-hives existed less than 50 yards from Coolock Village?

Just look at this hidden treasure which is located in the magnificently maintained gardens at Cadbury’s in Coolock.

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Gracefield Road, Coolock This piece of ground, opposite Our Lady of Mercy Church and Gracefield Road hosted the annual Halloween bonfire and was a fly-tipping hot spot until local people, with the assistance of Dublin City Council and the Artane Family Resource Centre, got together and planted flower beds and trees all around the surrounding walls. This is typical of how local people can influence their environment and help cut out instances of anti-social behaviour.

St Brendan’s Church and Parish Hall, Coolock Village Above is what we would refer to as a secret garden. It is located between St Brendan’s Community Centre and St Brendan’s Church. It is well maintained, peaceful and tranquil.

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Fairy Hill, Cadbury’s, Coolock This is the mythical and magical Fairy Hill located in the gardens of Cadbury’s in Coolock.

Great praise must be given to Cadbury’s and their staff for the maintenance and loving treatment afforded to such a phenomena.

Woodville House, Coolock This wonderful building is located off the Kilmore Road opposite Cromcastle Court. Renovation work on this listed building had started but it seems to have stalled due to the downturn in the economy. We would like to see this fully restored and used as a resource for the many adult groups in the locality.

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Santry River, Coolock Above is proof positive of how the Santry River could look if it was maintained properly. This could be a very worthwhile Public Private Partnership where all stakeholders, including the local community, agree a plan to clean and maintain this natural phenomena. This would have massive long-term savings for Local Authorities and should help stamp out fly-tipping. Again, compliments must be paid to Cadbury’s Coolock for their excellent maintenance of their gardens.

St. Doulagh’s Church, Baptistry, Hermit Cell and Well, Balgriffin This place has a palpable sense of peace, contentment and tranquillity. This very old and unique heritage site has a history going back fourteen hundred years. The clergy and Protestant congregation deserve recognition for their magnificent effort in the past and currently are looking to raise ₏300,000 for roof repairs. This gem is lucky to have survived the past hundred years with little or no state funding.

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Empty House, East Wall This house is situated on the corner of Seaview Avenue and Church Road, East Wall. I would love to see this house restored to its former glory. Nobody has resided here since the 1960s and it would make a fine home for a large family.

Santry River, Coolock Here is the beautiful Santry River. On many stretches between Coolock and Raheny its banks are overgrown. This is providing shelter for antisocial behaviour: dumping of bikes; supermarket trolleys; bags of rubbish. In recent years there has been serious problems with rats. This really is shameful as there is a lot of positivity coming from areas where the Santry River is properly maintained. I would like to see Dublin City Council clean back all the overgrowth on the banks of the river, install anti-vandal park furniture and create walking paths with a view to linking communities along the entire length of the river. Communities could then be encouraged to take part in cross-community projects to ensure the river is maintained to a clean and safe standard.

Santry River, behind Northside Shopping Centre, Coolock I just don’t like to see rubbish in the precious water, especially the disgusting trollies. Hope we will learn to respect and appreciate the lovely open spaces we have. I would like to see the Santry River clean of rubbish.

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Santry River, Coolock Like life, the Santry River keeps flowing, sometimes with no help from its friends. Clonshaugh/Coolock Industrial Park, Northside Shopping Centre and ColĂĄiste DhĂşlaigh need to step up to the mark here.

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At rear of Bayside Shopping Centre, Bayside The look here is gloomy and depressing. A tidy up and some paint might provide some cheer.

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Santry River, Santry Park, Santry

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This magnifcent landscaped park has the Santry River as its focal point. It shows what could be done in Clonsaugh and Coolock.

Aldborough House, North Strand Aldborough House on Portland Row, a magnificent Georgian Mansion built in 1796, is derelict and deteriorating. It needs urgent restoration. I would like to see Aldborough House as a Cultural Centre for North Dublin. It could incorporate history and folklore. The area is steeped in history and the house is ideally located for passing business.

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Main Street, Clongriffin All the units in this block are empty. This area was developed in 2005 and not one of these units has been occupied in that time.

It creates an illusion of abandonment and emptiness. The sense of neighbourhood in this area is seriously lacking. I would like to see people occupying these premises, providing a service for everyone so you can feel like you are somewhere local. Being local gives you a sense of security.

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Gate Lodge, ColĂĄiste DhĂşlaigh, Raheny The old gate lodge is currently being used as changing rooms for local football teams. Soon it will be vacated. The area around it has for many years attracted anti-social behaviour and is a black spot for fly-tippers. All it really says to our community is that the area is unloved and uncared for. I would like to see it used for activities that would benefit surrounding communities. It could be used to house tools for cross-community use; hoes, strimmers, rakes, spades and other tools could be stored here and used to maintain pubic spaces. A simple sign-in, sign-out system would work if designated trustees were key holders and simple written records where kept. Since this piece was written the gate lodge has been demolished.

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Lock Keeper’s Cottage, North Strand This cottage was the home of the former Lock Keeper at No.1 Lock, Newcomen Bridge, on the Royal Canal. It has been vacant for a number of years. With the housing crisis in Dublin, this cottage would make a lovely family home.

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Entrance to Coláiste Dhúlaigh and Santry River, Raheny Above are examples of wilful fly-tipping in the neglected overgrowth of the Santry River at the entrance to Coláiste Dhúlaigh, Springdale Road. It is imperative that this area is cleaned up and landscaped to prevent fly-tipping in the future. While I was taking the above photographs on Saturday 26th November 2016, many passers by stopped to chat and condemn the wilful neglect of such a potentially beautiful area. Absolutely every single person I spoke to said they do care and would like to be involved in keeping the area clean when it is cleaned up. It is sad but I felt by introducing ‘Please Dump Here’ and ‘Nobody Cares’ signs they may actually work as a motivator to get the public thinking about our environment.

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Mouth of the Santry River at Bull Island From here there are lovely views of the island and estuary with Howth in the background.

Sadly, at low tide these views are somewhat spoiled by what the previous high tides have left behind.

ESB Substation, Coolock This structure is situated facing the Civic Centre on Bunratty Road, Coolock. When I first noticed it I could not believe Dublin City Council would build homes facing this ugly substation. To me it states class distinction, private vs. public housing.

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Santry River, Gulliver’s Retail Park, Santry ‘Only the rivers run free’ - the Santry River runs free only sometimes.

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Vacant sites, Coolock Village The unattractive look of these places could be changed with a bit of care and attention. Some plants, fresh paint or even a mural might lift the gloomy look.

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Main Street, Clongriffin We stand here on a street which once paved the way to become the next ‘new town’. 12 years on and the hopes and dreams of a bustling community are still being held onto, but alas, still out of reach. A new town that was meant to grow businesses and families and a common heart of togetherness. A victim of the recession, loss of confidence became part of the problem and the solution is a work in progress. Reaching out to all community members and inviting them to unite together. My vision for where I live is to see a neighbourhood that comes together, is vibrant, busy and alive with activity, not empty pavements that yearn to be loved with footsteps, the wheels of prams, bicycles and scooters.

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Banks of Santry River, Raheny Above is the remnants of a Halloween Bonfire one month on, forgotten and unloved on the banks of the Santry River at the entrance to Coláiste Dhúlaigh, Springdale Road. This area is passed by hundreds of school children and their teachers on a daily basis. Our students are tomorrow’s politicians. What does such neglect say to them? This area needs to be cleaned and landscaped so the grass can be maintained short to discourage fly-tipping. I think this could be turned into a beautiful picnic area for the students to use all year round.

Balcurris Park, Ballymun The way the park is treated; rubbish is dumped, fires lit, beer drunk leaving glass bottles that are smashed by younger kids in the morning. I would like to see these community spaces respected by everyone.

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Former Housing Maintenance Depot, Coolock

Church of St John the Evangelist, Coolock

This building is on Kilmore Road in the grounds of Cromcastle Court flats facing the Northside Shopping Centre. Planting of trees and shrubs would visually enhance and soften this structure. It could provide a base and meeting space for community purposes like Youth Clubs and Men’s Sheds.

Above is the wonderful Church of St John the Evangelist on Tonlegee Road, opposite the Santry River. It is very much part of the history of Coolock. It is a milestone, a place of beauty, a clear direction indicator, a landmark. I would like to see it used to educate the public about the many historical sites that are on our doorstep, perhaps school tours would be a start.

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Santry River Estuary at Bull Island The Bull Island Nature Reserve is home to 180 different species of birds. Unfortunately, this particular spot is also home to discarded masonry and washed up rubbish of all kinds. Volunteers do their best, but regular Dublin City Council clean ups are needed, especially for the larger items of rubbish.

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dream on Children play local Walking hand in hand Nature expressing side by side Hall, magnificence Feasting daily dosh through Love friend wedding Giving The Results, resolution Eviction from their houses And, I freeze in terror I scare, where am i going metal smell, ice grey jail Screaming with the smell of Land Village we’re given

Sonnet written collaboratively by Dolly Duffy, George Finglas, Geraldine Gilsenan, Terry O’Brien, Gay Traynor, and Shabina Valentine; members of the Coolock Group of the Dublin’s Culture Connects: The National Neighbourhood working with writer Peter Kearns.

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Coolock Group

Dublin’s Culture Connects

IMMA – Irish Museum of Modern Art

The Coolock group are all past pupils from the 2016 Coolock Communiversity class. The Communiversity programme was set up between Northside Partnership, Maynooth University and Coolock Library to provide a high level of community education support and active citizenship courses outside of traditional educational settings.

Dublin’s Culture Connects, an initiative of Dublin City Council, is a programme of activities and projects that seek to build engagement and connection/re-connection in the city through partnerships that are meaningful to its citizens. These projects include the Fundraising Fellowship, Dublin; The National Neighbourhood; Cultural Map, and the EU Lab. They focus on creating space for experimentation, modelling new partnerships, and testing ways of working to drive the transformative power of culture and community. The role of culture has been positioned by Dublin City Council as central to its corporate policy, acknowledging its impact on all aspects of the city, including the economy, education, tourism and community. Dublin’s Culture Connects is mandated with beginning the implementation of Cultural Strategy for Dublin City Council, seeking social change through culture, new relationships and partnerships.

IMMA is the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland’s leading national institution for the presentation, production and collection of contemporary and modern Art. People come to IMMA to enjoy the dynamic programme of exhibitions, commissions, talks, films, live events, and engagement and learning programmes from its home in the beautiful Royal Hospital Kilmainham. Indeed IMMA was the third most visited free attraction in Ireland in 2015 with 485,000 visitors.

IMMA also has a long history of working with different communities and audiences through their Engagement and Learning programmes, finding ways to bring art and audiences closer together. To help achieve this IMMA regularly partners with other arts organisations, venues and agencies, such as Dublin City Council, in programming activities at off-site locations, extending their engagement with audiences and communities beyond the physical space of the museum.

Dorothy Smith Dorothy is a visual artist and holds an MA in Visual Arts Practices from IADT Dún Laoghaire, a Degree (Painting) from NCAD, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Arts Administration from UCD. Dorothy’s practise is concerned with the built environments in which people live and work and in particular in the built environment of public space. She has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions in Ireland and abroad.

She has worked with many community-based organisations, National Cultural Institutions and others as a manager, facilitator and teacher. She is a member of the Blackchurch Print Studio, Visual Artists Ireland, and is also a board member of Phizzfest and founding member of Reimagining Phibsborough. dorothysmith.ie Peter Kearns BA, MA, H. Dip. Peter graduated from Trinity College in the late 1980s with an English Honours degree and followed this with an MA in Film & TV Studies at Dublin City University and a Higher Diploma in Adult & Community Education from Maynooth College.

In the mid 1990s Peter established THE WORKHOUSE, a disability and arts consultancy company. His associate residency at The Abbey Theatre (2000 to 2003) facilitated the development of a disability policy and promoted a vision for the National Cultural Institution’s access to and with disabled people.

He has produced and directed a series of touring adult cabaret shows with disabled performers. Critically recognised drama work includes Cork Year of Culture Forum Theatre groups at Cork Cheshire Homes, Dundalk Disability Forum Theatre, Dublin, Sligo and Galway Disability Drama groups. He is also a writer/ dramatist, documentary & film maker.

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The National Neighbourhood The National Neighbourhood is a city-wide project bringing citizens and artists together with Dublin City Public Libraries, the five Dublin City Council Area Offices, the Dublin City Arts Office and Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane in partnership with Dublin’s National Cultural Institutions. The core value is the public and cultural community working together, connecting Dubliners in significant ways on projects that are relevant to their expressed concerns. In the North Central area, IMMA (The Irish Museum of Modern Art) and a number of artists worked with community groups from Belmayne, Coolock, Ayrfield, Donaghmede and Priorswood on ‘It Takes a Village’, which looked at identity and how a village is made.

This publication was made by Dolly Duffy, George Finglas, Geraldine Gilsenan, Terry O’Brien, Gay Traynor and Shabina Valentine working with artist Dorothy Smith and writer Peter Kearns as part of The National Neighbourhood: It Takes A Village.

The project was supported by Aileen Doyle, Tony Fagan and the late Jim Lee (RIP) from the North Central Area Office of Dublin City Council; Helen O’Donoghue, IMMA; Liz Coman, Dublin City Arts Office; Noel McMahon, Dublin City Public Libraries and Kate Aston and Iseult Byrne, Dublin’s Culture Connects.

IMMA’s programmes include the best of Irish and International artists in a constantly changing display of work. From 2016 – 2021 IMMA is proud to present the IMMA Collection: Freud Project – a five-year loan of 50 key works by landmark 20th century painter Lucian Freud. For more information on IMMA’s programmes visit: www.imma.ie Dublin City Council Arts Office The City Arts Office assists artists and communities to enhance their contributions to and experiences within the arts. The City Arts Office is part of Dublin City Council’s Culture Recreation Amenity and Community Department. The City Arts Office works in partnership with other Dublin City Council sections, and in particular with those concerned with arts and cultural programming and provision.

Dublin City Council North Central Area Office The North Central Area Office provides information about services in the area, local councillors and other Council developments. The North Central Area is one of 5 administrative areas used by Dublin City Council to co-ordinate the delivery of services in the city. This area includes Kilbarrack, Raheny, Donaghmede, Coolock, Clontarf and Fairview.

Dublin City Public Libraries Dublin City Libraries’ mission is to maximise opportunity for all – individuals and communities – through guided access to ideas, learning, literature, information and heritage resources supported by cultural programming.