Ballymun

Ballymun (Irish:"Baile Munna"), nicknamed "The Mun", is an area on Dublin's Northside close to Dublin Airport, Ireland. It is infamous for the Ballymun flats, which became a symbol of poverty, drugs, alienation from the state and social problems in Ireland since the 1970s. Today it is undergoing a multi-billion euro renewal, with a renovated village centre, surrounded by estates of houses and apartments, with several sub-districts such as Sillogue and Poppintree.

Ballymun had a population of 22,109 at the 2006 Census.

Amenities

Today Ballymun has a wide range of amenities, from green spaces and the public Sillogue Golf Course to a Tesco-owned shopping centre, a range of other shops and pubs and a hotel, to a public sector office development, with many branches of the city government (including a Motor Tax and Driver Licence office) and the Health Service and a very modern public leisure centre. There is a church in the old village centre, and a number of schools, including an Gaelscoil (Irish-speaking) primary school.

Transport

Historically, Ballymun was served by a number of Dublin Bus routes. The area is also to have an underground stop on the planned Metro North (Dublin city centre to Swords) line of the Dublin Metro. Journey time from Ballymun to the airport is estimated be around three minutes, and to Dublin city centre around fifteen minutes. [http://www.rpa.ie/metro/about_metro/what_is_metro]

History and Nature

Historically, Ballymun was a larger area than it is now, but quite rural, with a small village centre. Due to what were seen to be undesirable associations, the area has shrunk since the completion of the flats. For instance in the early days of Dublin City University, then called "NIHE, Dublin", this institution was referred to as being in Ballymun (part of the "Ballymun Project") whilst today it is referred to and has a postal address in Glasnevin even though it has not changed location; indeed much of the present day Ballymun town centre was comprised of the northern site of "Albert Agricultural College", the forerunner of the present-day university, Dublin City University. Streets have also been renamed. For example, Ballymun Avenue was renamed Glasnevin Avenue after a local plebiscite in the 1970s.

Despite its reputation, Ballymun is a thriving community with a high standard of living.Fact|date=July 2007 New housing estates are currently being built which will provide a mixture of private and social housing.

Ballymun tower blocks

, there was a total of 3,021 dwellings in the new Ballymun, all of which was social housing under the control of the Irish state through Dublin City Council.

The tenants primarily came from the most deprived areas of inner city Dublin, places where the depth of poverty could not be conceived of in modern Ireland. They arrived in Ballymun to some of the finest social housing in Europe, having central heating and other rarities of the day in their homes.

However, there was a profound lack of amenities throughout the area - initially the only shop was a van, for example - and, combined with a lack of trees, and estates built in cul de sacs, ghettoisation developed. By the recession of the 1980s, Ballymun was infested with social problems, most especially alcohol and other drug abuse. Although the public image of Ballymun has changed somewhat since the beginning of the Ballymun regeneration project in 1997, the social problems in Ballymun ensure it remains a remarkably different world to, for example, neighbouring Glasnevin.

Regeneration of Ballymun

The creation of Ballymun Regeneration Limited as a limited company of Dublin City Council initiated the beginning of the demolition of the Ballymun flats and the emergence of a new town of Ballymun. As of 2008, six of the seven towers (Pearse, Ceannt, Macdermott McDonagh, Connolly, and Clarke) as well as three eight-storey blocks and seven four-storey blocks have been demolished, with the residents usually rehoused in new state of the art housing in Ballymun. The new housing is a mixture of public, private, voluntary and co-operative housing. The new town of Ballymun is due to be completed by 2013.

The regeneration project, despite well-publicised questions about accountability and democratic participation, has also delivered many other amenities, including reworked park areas, a major City Council office facility, Health Service facilities, a public leisure centre, student accommodation, a new hotel and renewed shopping areas.

As part of the New Ballymun, a major tree-planting project called Amaptocare has been run, with people sponsoring trees and providing inscription texts which are engraved on plaques near the trees.

port

There are a number of local sports groups, including football club Ballymun Kickhams GAA and Ballymun United Football Club. Unidare RFC, who came runners-up in the 2007/08 Dublin Metro League, did so with a panel of players drawn heavily from the Ballymun area and young players from Ballymun now play at all youth levels for the club. [See, Emerald Rugby Magazine, October, 2007]

External links

* [http://www.newballymun.com New Ballymun dot com]
* [http://www.brl.ie Ballymun Regeneration Ltd] , with much about all aspects of the regeneration
* [http://www.brl.ie/Implosion_2.htm Photos of the demolition of one of the flats]
* [http://www.ballymun.org/ News about Ballymun and Ballymun Partnership]
* [http://www.ballymununited.com Ballymun United Football Club]
* [http://www.ballymunkickhams.com Ballymun Kickhams GAA Club]