Sir, – This week sees the re-opening of Iveagh Gardens (Dublin 2) to the public following a three-week closure in June.
The closure is required to allow for the setup/take-down of what is a massive food and entertainment event, Taste of Dublin, that runs over just four days. Furthermore, substantial parts of Iveagh Gardens are scheduled to close again for the entire month of July to accommodate no fewer than 15 concerts and comedy events.
These June/July schedules are running for so long now they are essentially “fixtures” in the annual calendar of Dublin city entertainment. Growing societal challenges would suggest that the uninterrupted leisurely enjoyment of public green spaces such as Iveagh Gardens should, however, take precedence over the hosting of large-scale entertainment events.
Public health and wellbeing can be nurtured and strengthened by encouraging people to regularly enjoy green spaces such as Iveagh Gardens. Hard- pressed workers, residents and visitors can chill out on the grass with a sandwich or take a stroll and just enjoy the tranquillity of this wonderful place.
Mental wellbeing and loneliness are challenges of our time and what better way to help tackle these than to encourage more people to regularly access green spaces such as Iveagh Gardens?
Alcohol bingeing is another health and wellbeing issue and yet it seems incredible that a public space would be provided as the key enabler for two months of summer entertainment involving alcohol consumption on a vast scale.
We are all asked to do our bit for the planet we live on, and rightly so. A young teenage participant at a recent UCD event to promote the study of philosophy, proposed that one way to save the planet was simply to encourage everyone to develop a relationship with nature. How profound is that!
And yet here in Iveagh Gardens, we witness the annual handover of the keys to a city centre park to commercially-driven third parties for two months of the summer. What is this but an obscene contradiction in public policy? – Yours, etc,
NOEL MAGEE,
Dublin 4.