The tastefully-promoted Belmayne Estate on the Malahide Road at Clare Hall, Dublin in 2007.
It never stood a ghost of a chance.
Or did IT?
I refer to Olivia Kelly’s article “Dublin ghost estate of Belmayne redeveloped for social housing” As a resident of Belmayne I am livid at such a negative and ill-informed portrayal.
Belmayne is an attractive, well-planned development, with a lovely sense of community, an active residents’ association, an amazing youth cluband wonderful community allotments. It is well served by two national schools, children’s playgrounds, excellent public transport links and is easily accessible to the local villages of Malahide and Portmarnock. I feel truly blessed to have wonderful neighbours, good hard working professional people I know I can rely on.
In particular, I take offence to the comments attributed tothe Clúid spokeswoman Karen Kennedy. While not without its problems, like any new estate, I have never witnessed anything remotely resembling the “highrates of anti-social behaviour, rubbish piled up on the streets” or dereliction which she depicts. And I have been here longer than Clúid has.
I also take issue with your reference to Belmayne as a ghost estate. The development has always had a high level of occupancy, as evidencedby the fact that it never appeared on the Revenue Commissioner’s list of some 2,700 ghost estates.
My neighbours have strived hard to build a community with asense of identity and pride. Belmayne might have been Ireland after the property crash. Your article makes it sound like Berlin after the war. It was never thus.
Dermot Regan,
Belmayne,
Dublin 13
Belmayne not a ghost estate (Irish Times letters)
Dublin ghost estate of Belmayne redeveloped for social housing (Olivia Kelly, Irish Times)
Previously: Remember When Gorgeous Living Came To Dublin?
Haha I remember those ads back in the day.
Hookers lying around on the chaiselong. Yeah what a way to sell apartments in Ballymun.
Ballymun? My dear its no where near ballymun. Its Belmayne, just off the Malahide road, close to Donaghmede, Clongriffin, Baldoyle… that area.
To some, Ballymun is very lazy shorthand for “the Northside”.
Or, more accurately, across the road from Darndale.
Ballymun? You don’t know Dublin too well.
they wrote the same in relation to clongriffin a long time ago, its far from a ghost estate, as is Belmayne. I know Belmayne well, people who live there and the roads and buildings. Its a lovely estate and has a lovely community spirit. You need to just accept the papers are going to print crap and ignore it. its nice to read the letter, but people who really want to buy in the area or live there will do their own investigations i’m sure.
Yeah, I work around the corner from there and it’s a nice little spot. It’s not amazing (and no where near the extravagant nirvana those stupid ads made it out to be), but that IT article is worse than the nonsense you find in the Daily Mail or Indo. Next you’ll have IT “journalists” hacking dead girls phones just to get a story.
Those ads were ridiculous!
I’ve a mate living there and it’s a decent spot. Was never gonna be the classiest place on earth but there’s a lot of great people in there and the place is well looked after.
In fairness, it’s the Irish Times; they look out towards the Northside and see a giant wall of ice somewhere around Liberty Hall, behind which are the wildlings. Nothing is known of their villages and customs.
we’re all fooking giants so we are!
was that the place which was launched by jamie redknapp and his wife?
Yep.
And built by this “gemtleman”
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/belmayne-boss-shifts-weights-instead-of-bricks-and-mortar-29436114.html
Dermot, it doesn’t fit nicely with the narrative that Belmayne represents everything bad about the boom years. It suits the agenda of a lot of people to constantly say that everything is terrible and that the world ended in 2009.
This place is still a kip tbh. I’m sure the residents that do live there have a good community spirit and look after the place, but the rough edges of the estate and general “unfinished-ness” are a real eyesore. Would hate to live there myself.
I have never witnessed anything remotely resembling the “highrates of anti-social behaviour, rubbish piled up on the streets” or dereliction which she depicts.
“When we first visited this development over six years ago….“highrates of anti-social behaviour, rubbish piled up on the streets” The complainant left out that first bit when commenting on the piece in the IT…
Six year old outrage in fairness.
Dermot also pointed out that he has been there a lot longer than Cluid so it is implicit.