If the residents of Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh, South Dublin, were troubled by the national attention they have drawn upon themselves with their last-minute legal challenge to the MetroLink rail project, there was little indication on Wednesday.
On Monday, 19 residents of Dartmouth Square West, close to the planned Charlemont terminus, and one company owned by a resident, submitted a High Court challenge aimed at overturning An Comisiún Pleanála’s approval of the rail project.
On Wednesday, a handful of those residents behind the legal challenge, whose back gardens would face the proposed Charlemont stop, answered their doors but politely declined to talk about MetroLink.
Those living on other sides of the square who did speak were sympathetic to their neighbours’ action.
RM Block
“I think they’re very brave, and I think they have right on their side,” said a resident of Dartmouth Square North who asked not to be named and who had attended the planning hearings last year.
“I’m not surprised they are going to court, but it is going to be very costly. I hope people are prepared for that and for what’s ahead.”
She said she was not opposed to the MetroLink but believes the area is not suitable as a terminus for the line. “It’s in the wrong location. This is a purely residential area. It doesn’t have a space for a hub like this. I can’t imagine how that number of people are going to be accommodated in these narrow streets.”
A city centre location would be more appropriate for a terminus, she said.
“This is not a personal issue, it’s a broader issue about what’s right for Dublin. The central area, at St Stephen’s Green, or O’Connell Street – which was become a very sad street indeed for our main street – would be more appropriate. It could provide a central focus that O’Connell Street needs.”
[ Transport Minister says MetroLink plans could be derailed for two yearsOpens in new window ]
On the opposite side of the square, another resident, who declined to give her name, said those taking the legal challenge had been left with no other option.
“I think it [MetroLink] is going to have a detrimental effect on these Victorian little roads along here. I think the area is totally unsuitable. You know, all these houses have preservation orders, and especially those houses on Dartmouth Square West, are going to be very badly affected, so what other option have they got at this stage?” she said.
“The infrastructure here is not suitable, there isn’t any place for set downs, or parking or anything like that – unless everybody’s going to come on foot, which I can’t see happening.”
Locals living close to, but not on, Dartmouth Square were more candid, and positive.
“My husband and I both think [the station] is an excellent idea,” Autumn Dempsey, who lives just off Ranelagh Road, said. “It’s a long time coming. We need access to the airport, we need better public transportation. It would be great for us because we live so nearby.”
However, she said she would like to see some mechanism of addressing the residents’ issues.
“We want to make sure everybody’s concerns have been addressed but it’s unfortunate that just a handful of people could cause a delay. I have to say though, based on living in the area for the last 10 years, I’m not surprised there was a legal challenge.”
Dr Frank Darcy, who lives locally but whose daughter lives on Dartmouth Square, said he believed the line should terminate at St Stephen’s Green. “This area is not suitable for such huge volume of traffic that will be coming through, especially cars but even pedestrians.” His family were not involved in the judicial review, but in relation to those taking the action he said: “I’m delighted they are having a go.”
