Swan Alley, off Thomas Street, is the second laneway councillors have voted to close this year
Swan Alley, off Thomas Street and running towards Hanbury Lane, has been a hotspot for drug-related activities, crime – including attempts to break into homes – and illegal dumping for the past several years.
Several residents and businesses bordering the laneway came together because it was “impacting their quality of life”, and sought support for its closure from Dublin City Council and their local policing forum.
Local Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty told the Irish Independent they were left with “essentially no other option but to extinguish the right of way in the laneway”.
“A group of residents came to us and relayed accounts of their really horrible, disgusting experiences of living here,” he said.
“It’s just shameful that, as local representatives, we are having to close down spaces because authorities can’t get a grip on how serious the drug-related intimidation and drug-taking is in these areas.
“For the residents, it has become absolutely nightmarish, and they feel like prisoners in their own homes,” he added.
While the decision was a “last resort”, Mr Moriarty said he would prefer that the gardaí and health services “got to grips with these challenges”.
The laneway has a pedestrian entrance off Thomas Street but opens into a wider vehicular entrance at the end, which is located next to an apartment building.
Dublin City Council will initiate proposals in the coming weeks to install gates at both entrances to Swan Alley.
The plans will also be subject to public consultation for a period of four weeks before councillors will be able to vote on whether to approve the closure.
This is the second laneway earmarked for closure in Dublin city centre so far this year. Harbour Court, a laneway running between Marlborough Street and Eden Quay, was voted for closure by councillors back in January.
Black steel, 2-metre high gates have since been erected at all three entrances to the lane, which was notorious for being used as a “portable loo” and a spot for open drug use.
Social Democrats councillor Jen Cummins also expressed that she found it “very sad” that Swan Alley would have to be closed due to an inability to manage behaviour that is “not acceptable” in the city.
“There’s an underinvestment in youth services in Dublin 8, and while it won’t fix everything, it would definitely help,” she said.
“Can we not be more creative and look at it from a different perspective? Why couldn’t we invest in the lane, creating something nice, like a public art space?
“We need to invest in Dublin 8, for the people who live here, not only for those visiting,” she added.
Frank Murphy, an Administrative Officer at Dublin City Council, told councillors at their latest meeting that what has been happening in the laneway has been ongoing for “several years”.
“It’s very serious and has gotten a lot worse in recent months,” he said.
He added that plans to close the laneway had been initiated previously but issues regarding Dublin Fire Brigade access to the laneway had arisen.
With that resolved, he said that signs will be erected on either side of the laneway for observations and objections to the closure.
