I emailed Fingal County Council on being informed by the park wardens on 15/12/16 that a ban on off lead dogs in Ardgillan park had been initiated, with no previous warning - and with immediate effect. This was my email:

"To whom it may concern.

I was informed (nicely) by 2 wardens today at approximately 3.30 pm today that from now on all dogs must be on a lead in EVERY part of the park/demesne. Given that a vast majority of your daily, year-round visitors are dog walkers - especially in the meadows that run parallel to the main park - this seems like an incredibly stupid and short sighted declaration. There is MORE than enough land to accommodate everyone comfortably and safely. I have walked my dog off lead on an almost daily basis for the last 2 years without incident. I restrict her off lead activity to the meadows, walking her on leash as required on the shared paths - as well as in proximity to the playground - this being merely sound common sense.

Could you please provide a statement to clarify this matter and to indicate if a compromise could be reached, for example: one or both the meadows being reserved for off lead dogs. I think you will find that this blanket ban will have a terribly detrimental effect on visitors to the park. This would be an awful shame because, as a local person, I visit almost every day to run my dog in the meadows. I have always found the demesne to be beautifully, sensibly and fairly managed, but this new rule will now mean - much to my regret - that I will have scant reason to set foot in the place again. I think you will find a lot of dog walkers will have the same response. I hope that sense will prevail and a provision will be made to accommodate off leash activity. Ironically - today is the first time my dog has been snapped at - BOTH dogs were on a lead. So if this decision has been made to prevent such problems arising - it will be a total dead loss.

I trust that a response will be forthcoming at your earliest convenience.

On 16/12/16 I received a reply from Ardgillan and also received a reply from Fingal County Council, this is from the latter:

"Over the last year and particularly the last 6 months we have experienced a huge increase in the amount of dog walkers visiting the park. We are delighted with all the additional park users as its brings a great vibrancy to Ardgillan Demense. Dog walkers are an important user group in Ardgillan Demense and we want to ensure that their needs are met safely and appropriately.

However, we also have had an increased amount of complaints from other park users regarding incidents that have occurred regarding dogs off lead. Our Bye Laws require all dogs to be kept under effective control, however we have a series of incidents where dogs are jumping up on people, knocking children over and in a recent case we had a biting incident with an restricted breed of dog which was not muzzled and off lead. We also have had complaints from users that are accompanied by dogs for medical reasons and their assistance dogs have become annoyed by dogs wandering off lead and not under effective control. This results in a lot of upset and stress by all involved.

Having considered the above and with regard for the overall safety and wellbeing of all park users it has been decided that all dogs visiting Ardgillan must be kept on a lead at all times, pending approval of the Park Bye Laws, which are currently under review.

Your comments have been noted and will be forwarded to the Executive Parks Superintendent.

Any inconvenience caused is regretted."

I also asked a question of a manager at Ardgillan that no one else seems to have asked: can these complaints actually be substantiated or verified? It appears they cannot. So - a knee jerk blanket ban is their answer - despite claiming that dog walkers are an important "user group." It seems to me the sensible thing is to launch a petition not to try to challenge the change to the bye law* but rather to request that of the 200 plus acres, some could be set aside for off-lead use. A possible solution would be one or both of the meadows which can be accessed through the lane parallel to the main entrance (and also through the overflow car park) These meadows also lie parallel to the main park, leaving the extensive approach to Ardgillan, access to the gardens, castle and easterly lying lands to all other users (including dogs on leads.)

(*unlikely, since up to now no one even knew it was being reviewed)