Pat writes:
The Office of Public Works “kindly grant permission” to shut a public park for private business interests for almost all of June and July each year – Taste of Dublin and then these events.
Perhaps some of the artists (i.e. those with a sense of social conscience) might consider not taking a repeat booking next year.
The OPW should be reminded that they are guardians of a public park and public parks should not shut for private events in my opinion.
FIGHT!
Live at Iveagh Gardens (Aiken Promotions)
Sponsored Link
Thanks for this, didn’t know Anna Calvi was coming…..
Who are you to get in the way of coporate sponsorship and Mr Aiken?
There’s a whiff of Mr ‘leave Britney alone’ from whoever wrote on that notice
‘I live here’.
I knew those grey squirrels were smart, but their handwriting is pretty impressive!
Moves to the city to be among the vibrant cultural city life …
… objects to vibrant cultural city life
You can be in favour of these sort of events, but opposed to a public park being closed for weeks at a time to facilitate private, ticketed functions.
The Hatch Street Gate will remain open to a limited area of the park until 6pm as normal
Parts of the park remain open. This is similar to Marley Park and Malahide Castle – they have parts closed off while there are concerts – but you can still get in most of the usual times.
Yes about 10% in total ! I would say the same about Marley -apart from occasional events public parks should be public
Bloom in the Phoenix probably different in that Phoenix has the space
Yeah, but this is a smaller park, and it seems to be for four weekends in a row – I don’t think there are ever so many consecutive closures in the other parks you mentioned.
fair point.
I have huge sympathy for local residents if there is noise, litter or other disruption this is not being properly managed and fully support any complaints they would have of this kind. I have a lot less sympathy for “you took my park” because I want to live in a city with live events and they have to happen somewhere. (That means places like Dame street get blocked anytime trucks try to get to the Olympia. Similarly the residents near Croke park have to put up with a lot more than the odd Sunday game they could reasonably have expected to accommodate.) The local residents probably have plenty of very valid complaints but this person didn’t express their concerns very well and these childish scrawlings do no one any good.
On balance does the event benefit the public good?
Are the events are charged appropriately for use of this public space and the proceeds used to help improve and maintain the park. Are all the aforementioned noise, traffic, and litter regulations being properly enforced?
Why can they not do these festivals like in France
We lived in Carcassonne for several months
In the summer the city gives free concerts festivals and everything free
We saw the gypsy kings free at the Spanish festival
The whole city was vibrant with food bars concerts all free promoting carcassonne
Their bastile day celebration ended by one of the best fireworks display I have seen
It lasted 30 minutes
I would love to know who is paying for all the things incurred from this like insurance supervision policing etc
But we all know
The public purse as the organisers take their profits
If they use public land then the general public should not be made pay an entrance fee
I’ve been in Carcassonne for that festival.
It wouldn’t work in Ireland because people would get hammerred and wreck the place (like the canal).
The photo is mine -my guess is that the “childish scrawlings” are the comment of a long term local resident
The odd event maybe but enough is enough
The park is being closed during the highest demand times for local residents. Every weekend for the better part of the summer. They have a point. They used to live beside a park they could use now they live beside a live event venue producing loud noise every weekend.
except: “The Hatch Street Gate will remain open to a limited area of the park until 6pm as normal”
Except I went in the Hatch Street Gate last Friday and the area that is open to the public is about the size of a back garden. It’s that first tiny patch of grass and there are fences around the entire rest of the park.
Not trueAnd there’s music blaring out of the place that you can hear on the other side of stephen’s green.
I’d have a lot more sympathy if it wasn’t one of the few areas in town that happens to be pretty well serviced with green space. Stephen’s Green is a stone’s throw from the Iveagh Gardens. Merrion Square is only a little further. And there’s also the canal. It’s not like the residents are stuck for a nice outdoor space to go to during those few weekends when the Iveagh Gardens closed. They should try living in the Liberties where there’s eff all green space.
The proprietary tone of the OP’s post is pretty irksome too. It’s not his park. It belongs to all of us. And some of us like outdoor events.
I do not claim exclusive ownership -I just think public parks should be just that
I expect Úna Mullally and the Irish Times G-entrification set will write strongly about this. Not.
The live music during Taste was pretty awful.
And I generally avoid Iveagh Gardens during the summer months because of all these events has most of it closed off. Which is a shame, it’s a wonderful park.
So I understand where they are coming from, the scrawler. But not the right way to go about it to be fair.
imagine paying whatever huge rent to live there, and then never get a wink of sleep for an entire two months.
Pre 10:45pm sleep a few times a month
god forbid this entitled resident has to walk a couple minutes to Stephens green
He has a point
Lets set up a concert next to your house
The public should be entitled to access a public park -it is an entitlement and should not be a privilege to be allocated at the discretion is the OPW – the P is for public not private
The public should be entitled to enter a public park as a right not a privilege to be allocated at the whim of the OPW
Live in the city. Complain about living in the city.
Is this Frank McDonald?
Also, it’s not his park
It’s everyones park.
And for the duration of the events it’s not everyones park.
I used to live near the RDS and the free concerts were great! I didn’t even have to leave the house.