With just a week until Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Councillors are asked to approve, amend or reject the latest controversial plans for Shanganagh Park, please find below contact details and an email template that can be copy and pasted for emailing Councillors and area TDs this week.
Help us by sending a clear message to the decision makers in an election year to show them that the public have had enough of the Parks Department's incessant bullying of the community and continued attempts to push through their unwanted and unsustainable plans!
Template:
Subject: *URGENT* – SHANGANAGH PARK PART 8 VOTE - 12FEB
Dear Councillor,
I hope this finds you well.
“It is crucial that we all take actions which safeguard, climate, and biodiversity. The presence of a thriving natural world and stable climate is indispensable for our overall well-being. It is so important that we maintain its health, as ours is linked to it. Our commitment to protecting nature today will yield substantial benefits for future generations. The decisions we make today and the upcoming years will dictate our collective future. All of us, individuals, communities, businesses, and government alike are asked to take ownership of the commitment to tackle climate change”
- Cllr Denis O’Callaghan, DLRCOCO Cathaoirleach – 11 January, 2024
This coming Monday, 12 February, 2024, the Councillors of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown will again be asked to vote on the Council’s controversial plans for Shanganagh Park in Shankill.
Regrettably, and by any measure, these plans are deeply flawed, widely opposed and, most importantly, incredibly damaging to the community’s relationship with sport, the sports clubs claiming to serve our communities, and the significant negative and cumulative impacts on the environment through biodiversity loss, traffic, noise, light, litter and air pollution – all due to an increase of sport facilities in a tranquil, open and much valued section of the Park, wholly unsuited to becoming a de facto sports campus.
This vote takes place despite the wishes of a community majority - many of which are active and proud members of the sports clubs set to benefit from the proposals – and a concerted effort to have their voices not just heard but acted upon in relation to the more viable and sustainable solution that will satisfy the majority of stakeholder groups involved i.e. to protect and preserve the Park’s natural footprint and locally important biodiversity by avoiding the removal of established woodland and wildflower meadows and instead upgrade and enhance existing sports facilities in the Park and locality to improve year-round playability and accessibility through the addition of floodlights, proper design and drainage, parking and transport links etc..
This will avoid a situation where “more pitches/less park” is the Council’s go-to solution to address the perceived need for more (rather than better) facilities, driven by the expansionary objectives of sports clubs to expand their footprint and raise funds via increased membership subscriptions.
I fully appreciate the desire for more facilities but we are in a climate and biodiversity emergency – not a sports emergency – and as such, Council policy and decisions must reflect this reality, however difficult it may be for the sports clubs or politicians. Failing to do so opens up the Council and its members up to criticism, accusations of tokenism and only paying lip service to its declaration of a climate emergency, and legal action – a risky strategy in the short term given an election year but a catastrophic strategy in the medium to long term given the existential challenges we are all facing.
While understanding established voting conventions between Councillors from the same political grouping to defer to the judgement of the local ward Councillor and follow their lead, incredibly all but one of the Shankill/Killiney ward Councillors voted to approve the plans in 2022. However, given the wider economic, social and environmental consequences, this matter requires far more than the risk of reliance on “local” knowledge.
Over 2,140 people have signed an online petition at www.change.org/SaveShanganaghPark. Almost 75% of public submissions received for the last Part 8 public consultation in 2022 opposed the Council Plans (283 of 393 submissions received, noting some individual submissions from Resident Associations etc. represented many multiples of people). An Bord Pleanala received submissions from over 45 individuals seeking a determination that an Environmental Impact Assessment be undertaken given Council attempts to avoid doing so (see pages 10-34 at ABP INSPECTOR'S REPORT - SHANGANAGH PARK). The Council’s own commissioned report of stakeholder groups and preferences also found overwhelming opposition to Council plans in favour of the more economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound alternatives that can be achieved by upgrading/enhancing existing and nearby facilities to better serve sport, the community and our shared environment.
Given the Parks Department have repeatedly dismissed and ignored these concerns, despite the Council conceding a 2022 Judicial Review to quash a previous iteration of the plans, we must now put our trust in our elected representatives to do the right thing by all and reject these new plans you are being asked to consider on 12 February so that the right solutions can be achieved.
DLRCOCO, its Councillors and staff have done many wonderful things for the county but this Part 8 Plan for Shanganagh Park is unfortunately not one of them. The plans foundations predate the Covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent documented decline in organised team sport, the surge in passive recreation, a greater appreciation for nature on our doorstep, and the importance of green open and accessible spaces for physical and mental wellbeing for young and old alike.
As such, and as one of many concerned residents and voters, I implore you to lobby your fellow Councillors to oppose these plans so that Council efforts and resources can instead be focussed as a matter of urgency on developing a more sustainable future for the Park, for nature, for sport, and for the Shankill and wider community.
Yours sincerely,
<<Insert your Name and Address>>
Councillor and TD contact details (listed by email, ward, political grouping)
(as publicly available and published online at https://www.dlrcoco.ie/council-democracy/dlr-councillors and https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/tds/?tab=constituency&constituency=%2Fie%2Foireachtas%2Fhouse%2Fdail%2F33%2Fconstituency%2FD%C3%BAn-Laoghaire)
By Email
kfeeney@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mhanafin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mbaker@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mdockrell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mfanning@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
kruddock@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
cormac@cormacdevlin.ie
Jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie
richard.boydbarrett@oireachtas.ie
ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
jmoylan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mfayne@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
lhall@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
joconnell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mhalpin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
dquinn@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
tkivlehan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
sbrennan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
agrainger@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
joleary@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
acolgan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
pobrien@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
smcloughlin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
ddunne@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
tmurphy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
kahmed@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
eblain@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
ssexton@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
lmccarthy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mfleming@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
ooconnor@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
mclark@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
jgildea@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
fmcnamara@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
denisoc@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
carriesmyth@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
hlewis@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
unapower@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
ldockery@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
jkennedy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
moconnell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
bsaul@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
ddonnelly@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
edowling@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
By Ward
Blackrock:
Councillor Kate Feeney, Fianna Fáil, 086-4611627, kfeeney@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Mary Hanafin , Fianna Fáil, 851202121, mhanafin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Marie Baker, Fine Gael, 086-8186704, mbaker@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Maurice Dockrell, Fine Gael, 087 179 3679, mdockrell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Martha Fanning, Labour, 087-2041559, mfanning@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Kate Ruddock, The Green Party, 087 951 4048, kruddock@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Dún Laoghaire:
Councillor Justin Moylan, Fianna Fáil, 873138815, jmoylan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Mary Fayne, Fine Gael, 086-4611626, mfayne@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Lorraine Hall , Fine Gael, 087-7905555, lhall@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Juliet O'Connell, Labour, 087-2707745, joconnell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Melisa Halpin , People Before Profit, 086-3805793, mhalpin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Dave Quinn, Social Democrats, 087-2473448, dquinn@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Tom Kivlehan, The Green Party, 873732518, tkivlehan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Dundrum:
Councillor Shay Brennan, Fianna Fáil, 086-8290570, sbrennan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Anna Grainger, Fine Gael, 087-2825511, agrainger@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Jim O'Leary, Fine Gael, 086-8186732, joleary@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Anne Colgan, Independent, 087-2454202, acolgan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Peter O'Brien, Labour, 086-4611638, pobrien@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Sean McLoughlin, Non Party, 087-7411638, smcloughlin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Daniel Dunne, The Green Party, 871154468, ddunne@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Glencullen-Sandyford:
Councillor Tom Murphy, Fianna Fáil, 086-7814515, tmurphy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Kazi Ahmed, Fine Gael, 086- 0313448, kahmed@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Emma Blain, Fine Gael, 087-7152786, eblain@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Senan Sexton, Independent, 087 165 9022, ssexton@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Lettie McCarthy, Labour, 086-8186718, lmccarthy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Michael Fleming, Non Party, 086-0201665, mfleming@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Oisín O'Connor, The Green Party, 087 6065648, ooconnor@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Killiney-Shankill:
Councillor Michael Clark, Fianna Fáil, 087-1094032, mclark@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Jim Gildea, Fine Gael, 086-8131456, jgildea@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Frank McNamara, Fine Gael, 871043210, fmcnamara@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Denis O'Callaghan, Labour, 086-2785609, denisoc@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Carrie Smyth, Labour, 086-3835051, carriesmyth@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Hugh Lewis, Non Party, 086-7814523, hlewis@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Una Power, The Green Party, 087-3861048, unapower@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Stillorgan:
Councillor Liam Dockery, Fianna Fáil, 087 762 6065, ldockery@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor John Kennedy, Fine Gael, 087-7720794, jkennedy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Maeve O'Connell, Fine Gael, 086-8516936, moconnell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Barry Saul, Fine Gael, 086-7814517, bsaul@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Deirdre Donnelly, Independent, 086-4611625, ddonnelly@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Eva Elizabeth Dowling, The Green Party, 083-1496045, edowling@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Dun Laoghaire TDs:
Cormac Devlin TD, Fianna Fáil, (01) 275 0786, cormac@cormacdevlin.ie
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, Fine Gael, 087-9257559, Jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie
Richard Boyd Barrett TD, People Before Profit, (01) 230 3020, richard.boydbarrett@oireachtas.ie
Ossian Smyth TD, The Green Party, (01) 618 3362, ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
By Political Grouping
Fianna Fáil:
Councillor Kate Feeney, Blackrock, 086-4611627, kfeeney@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Mary Hanafin , Blackrock, 851202121, mhanafin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Justin Moylan, Dún Laoghaire, 873138815, jmoylan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Shay Brennan, Dundrum, 086-8290570, sbrennan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Tom Murphy, Glencullen-Sandyford, 086-7814515, tmurphy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Michael Clark, Killiney-Shankill, 087-1094032, mclark@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Liam Dockery, Stillorgan, 087 762 6065, ldockery@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Cormac Devlin TD, Dun Laoghaire, (01) 275 0786, cormac@cormacdevlin.ie
Fine Gael:
Councillor Marie Baker, Blackrock, 086-8186704, mbaker@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Maurice Dockrell, Blackrock, 087 179 3679, mdockrell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Mary Fayne, Dún Laoghaire, 086-4611626, mfayne@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Lorraine Hall , Dún Laoghaire, 087-7905555, lhall@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Anna Grainger, Dundrum, 087-2825511, agrainger@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Jim O'Leary, Dundrum, 086-8186732, joleary@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Kazi Ahmed, Glencullen-Sandyford, 086- 0313448, kahmed@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Emma Blain, Glencullen-Sandyford, 087-7152786, eblain@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Jim Gildea, Killiney-Shankill, 086-8131456, jgildea@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Frank McNamara, Killiney-Shankill, 871043210, fmcnamara@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor John Kennedy, Stillorgan, 087-7720794, jkennedy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Maeve O'Connell, Stillorgan, 086-8516936, moconnell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Barry Saul, Stillorgan, 086-7814517, bsaul@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, Dun Laoghaire, 087-9257559, Jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie
Independent:
Councillor Anne Colgan, Dundrum, 087-2454202, acolgan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Senan Sexton, Glencullen-Sandyford, 087 165 9022, ssexton@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Deirdre Donnelly, Stillorgan, 086-4611625, ddonnelly@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Sean McLoughlin, Dundrum, 087-7411638, smcloughlin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Michael Fleming, Glencullen-Sandyford, 086-0201665, mfleming@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Hugh Lewis, Killiney-Shankill, 086-7814523, hlewis@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Labour:
Councillor Martha Fanning, Blackrock, 087-2041559, mfanning@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Juliet O'Connell, Dún Laoghaire, 087-2707745, joconnell@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Peter O'Brien, Dundrum, 086-4611638, pobrien@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Lettie McCarthy, Glencullen-Sandyford, 086-8186718, lmccarthy@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Denis O'Callaghan, Killiney-Shankill, 086-2785609, denisoc@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Carrie Smyth, Killiney-Shankill, 086-3835051, carriesmyth@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
People Before Profit:
Councillor Melisa Halpin , Dún Laoghaire, 086-3805793, mhalpin@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Richard Boyd Barrett TD, Dun Laoghaire, (01) 230 3020, richard.boydbarrett@oireachtas.ie
Social Democrats:
Councillor Dave Quinn, Dún Laoghaire, 087-2473448, dquinn@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
The Green Party:
Councillor Kate Ruddock, Blackrock, 087 951 4048, kruddock@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Tom Kivlehan, Dún Laoghaire, 873732518, tkivlehan@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Daniel Dunne, Dundrum, 871154468, ddunne@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Oisín O'Connor, Glencullen-Sandyford, 087 6065648, ooconnor@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Una Power, Killiney-Shankill, 087-3861048, unapower@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Councillor Eva Elizabeth Dowling, Stillorgan, 083-1496045, edowling@cllr.dlrcoco.ie
Ossian Smyth TD, Dun Laoghaire, (01) 618 3362, ossian.smyth@oireachtas.ie
#SaveShanganaghPark