Dublin - Metrolink (Swords to Charlemont only)

hold my beer · 28-03-2026 09:24PM

The sob stories over the construction phase have started. Heard a news snippet earlier about how one of Irelands oldest GAA clubs, Fingalians, is going to lose 2 pitches for 2 years.

spacetweek · 28-03-2026 09:42PM

A fact that the club would have known for years.

Tileman · 28-03-2026 09:50PM

exactly I think this is the result of the govt paying out money to buy the houses at charl. Everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie now.
like other poster said this has been known for years. Were they asleep at the wheel

tobsey · 29-03-2026 12:06AM

That’s absolute nonsense. It’s a GAA club, by definition a not for profit organisation. They have one pitch in their club grounds, and two pitches in Balheary park they use. All the teams in the club use them. There was never an indication that the pitches would be unusable for construction. Metrolink’s own site recognises that the club needs the facilities.

I’m 100% behind metrolink, living in Swords 20 years so been waiting a long time for it, but a better solution to this issue needs to be found.

Kermit.de.frog · 29-03-2026 01:35AM

Revised cost estimates for the metro were due to be published in March. I wonder has the war in the Middle East put a pause on that.

KrisW1001 · 29-03-2026 10:43AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124347864#Comment_124347864

I expected these to be smaller area contracts than typically seen on roads. Roads avoid settlements, Metrolink is the opposite. Digging holes in Dublin is going to create a lot of work for archaeological firms, simply because so much could be found: the east coast of the country has been inhabited for about 3000 years, and any site near a river mouth is likely to show later Viking settlements too. As archeology is mostly done by small firms hiring from a small pool of specialist labour, keeping the contacts smaller will make it easier to fill them.

There'll still be time to keep ahead of the main construction

Consonata · 29-03-2026 11:20AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348198#Comment_124348198

Doesn't mitigate the fact that they have known about this for nearly 5 years at this point.

The extent of the temporary site take proposed. This is from the Railway Order drawings published quite some time ago.

Why are they only raising this now?

spacetweek · 29-03-2026 11:22AM

Which is why I don't believe this has come as a surprise. Probably just kicking up a fuss in the hopes of getting a settlement.

loyatemu · 29-03-2026 11:27AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348605#Comment_124348605

I'd imagine they're trying to get a better or quicker solution from Metrolink by putting political pressure on them. According the news report ML are talking to ALSAA at the airport but members of the club reckon that's too far away. I didn't hear any alternative locations being suggested though.

Anyone they interviewed from the club was supportive of the project overall.

Podge_irl · 29-03-2026 11:51AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348605#Comment_124348605

Kicking up a fuss now in the hopes of getting a settlement seems remarkably stupid. There is little reason for Metrolink to tell them anything except "tough ****".

breezy1985 · 29-03-2026 12:25PM

It's most likely the media stirring sht. I bet they went to the club rather than the club to them.

tobsey · 29-03-2026 05:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348601#Comment_124348601

They’re raising it now because they’ve just been told what the alternative is. And that alternative isn’t even close to being sorted yet. ALSAA is a disaster for parking, and isn’t set up to accommodate the club now.

To the other poster who said they should use the neighbouring club, Cholmchilles, they have one pitch total. And they use it.

Sierra Oscar · 29-03-2026 05:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124348605#Comment_124348605

In fairness it hasn't really come as a surprise to the club, it was well thrashed out during the public consultation process which they engaged with in good faith. They're putting the pressure on for better facilities to be provided in the interim. You'd expect them to advocate for their members in fairness.

The media are doing a fair bit of stirring on this one. The club aren't objecting to the loss of the pitches during construction, they're taking issue with what is being provided in the interim as a replacement.

If anything this latest coverage has just served to highlight locally that the loss of the pitches is only for three'ish years during the construction. A lot of people thought they were gone for good and weren't going to be reinstated with top class facilities funded by the works. They'll probably have some of the finest pitches in the country for a local club. Most members will be very happy so long as proper facilities are porivded in the interim.

breezy1985 · 29-03-2026 05:51PM

It's only going to get worse once construction starts. The media are gonna scour every house in Dublin for a crack in the wall to blame on the borer and the news will be full of Da Salt a da Earth types and Hyacinth Buckets telling us about the world shaking every morning.

salmocab · 29-03-2026 07:28PM

the GAA clubs board would not be doing its best by their members if they didn’t get the best deal out of this that they can. 3 years sending people to somewhere awkward or far away could be very damaging to them. 3 years could also easily turn into 4/5 by the time the pitches are reinstated.

Zebra3 · 29-03-2026 09:00PM

If they’re doing the best by their members, why at this late stage is it becoming an issue?

CatInABox · 29-03-2026 09:09PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124349777#Comment_124349777

Because as was mentioned above, they've only now heard where their temporary pitches are going to be.

It's really not the clubs fault here. It's not the fault of the NTA here either, but the club are pushing for better replacement pitches.

It really isn't unreasonable, but it is indicative of how are newspapers report on issues: low on facts, high on emotions, and all about the clicks.

bk · 29-03-2026 10:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124349636#Comment_124349636

The club doesn’t even own these pitches! They are owned by Fingal County Council, the club has numerous other pitches they use.

jd · 29-03-2026 10:40PM

There seems to be a lot of farmland not far away from their affected pitches so perhaps a pragmatic solution can be found ( NTA found one for the rich Charlemont residents)

DrivingSouth · 29-03-2026 11:15PM

I find it hard to believe that during the public consultation, once the pitches were known to being removed, the club didn't push to find out exactly what the solution was going to be. If the answer is "well that's what happened" fair enough, but I kinda assumed that's what the whole idea behind the public consultation, the republished plans and the judicial review window were all about.

If that's not the case, then why the frick does all that go on for months to years?

bikeman1 · 30-03-2026 04:11AM

ALSAA is only a disaster because it is such a busy facility as it is. A massive number of clubs, locals and organisations rely on its facilities all day every day. Every busy club has a busy drop off and pick up situation for the kids.

It is a 15 minute drive from Fingallians. Which adds an additional 30 minutes each time for parents, which is a lot.

Hopefully a better solution can be found.

salmocab · 30-03-2026 07:16AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124349927#Comment_124349927

I don’t see that as being relevant. They are right to push for the best outcome for their members. I don’t think this is as big a deal as people are making out, maybe it’s a vacuum of news about metro causing it so when something pops up there has to be outrage.

CatInABox · 30-03-2026 07:22AM

Yeah, this is something that's going to get sorted, and sorted fairly easily. It's not going to delay anything, and will have no impact on the project at all.

I'm as pro Mertolink as a person can get, and I think people need to give Fingallians a bit of a break here. They're trying to get a better solution, and yes, that does involve going to the media. It's just how these things are done. The media put their own spin on it then, which I find distasteful, but again, that's just what the media does.

I'd expect that by this time next month, this will have been sorted and forgotten about.

Deedsie · 30-03-2026 08:55AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124350181#Comment_124350181

Some people will always try to paint the GAA in a negative light no matter what the actual facts are. They are 100% correct to advocate for the best outcome for their members.

Kermit.de.frog · 30-03-2026 03:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124335355#Comment_124335355

https://twitter.com/DarraghOBrienTD/status/2037878818019397821

Presumably referencing the project on the R132 mentioned.

CatInABox · 01-04-2026 08:43AM

Padel courts near swords pavilions has planning permission denied, as it's going to be used as a construction site for Mertolink.

Bizarre that Hammerson went ahead with the application at all, always going to be denied.

https://m.independent.ie/business/plans-for-10-padel-courts-denied-due-to-metrolink-project/a126185568.html

Rulmeq · 01-04-2026 12:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355015#Comment_124355015

Not sure what a padel court is (even after looking at the article), but can they build it after the metro construction is completed?

loyatemu · 01-04-2026 12:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355511#Comment_124355511

it's where you play padel.

salmocab · 01-04-2026 12:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124355590#Comment_124355590

oh that I could thank this twice

ArmaniJeanss · 01-04-2026 01:48PM

Padel = similar to tennis but smaller in scale with the court roughly 1/4 of the size with bats instead of stringed racquets. Popular in Iberia especially.

Clearly permission had to be rejected, but it does seem a shame.
A healthy, wholesome sporting facility right beside a Metro station is exactly what we should be aiming for.
Unfortunately in this case the land is part of the Metro building works.

Saying 'can they build it after the Metro construction?' sounds good in theory, but the financing they currently have may not be available in 5/10 years, or they may decide that extra retail space is a better bet.

Dublin - Metrolink (Swords to Charlemont only)

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