Dublin's 'ma on a mission' calls on TDs to join her 'save our pitches' campaign
Dublin’s North Inner City’s ‘ma on a mission’ will not be stopped as she calls on politicians to recognise her ‘Save Our Pitches’ campaign.
Nikki Murphy, who originally comes from Dominick Street, previously spoke to Dublin Live about the risk of losing sports facilities for young people to housing and redevelopment projects. She stressed her support for tackling the housing crisis and providing people with much-needed accommodation but believes the thousands of vacant and derelict properties across the city would be far better options than community sports pitches.
Ms Murphy has now formally contacted North Inner City councillors and TDs to highlight what she calls a coordinated “zoning creep” across Dublin , where vital community infrastructure is being sacrificed to facilitate high-density development. She stressed “we cannot build a future on the ruins of our children's health” as a lack of proper community facilities only serve to entrench anti-social behaviour among young people.
One example, according to Ms Murphy, is Variation No. 10 of the Dublin City Development plan, which relates to the rezoning of 52 hectares of land for the Kylemore Masterplan . This variation saw land previously classified as Z9, for amenity and open space, being reclassified as Z14, for strategic development and regeneration.
Ms Murphy argues that “this sets a legal precedent that Z9 protections are ‘negotiable’ when they stand in the way of housing targets.”
Another point of concern for Ms Murphy is the Part 8 application for a link road to serve the Cherry Orchard Point development . “This road involves the physical removal and realignment of boundary fences at Cherry Orchard Football Club, directly encroaching on land that is functional community sports territory,” Ms Murphy stated in her formal letter to D8, D10, and D12 representatives.
“As an inner-city activist, I am highlighting that the threat to Cherry Orchard is not an isolated incident,” she said. “The proposed demolition of the Strand Pitch (Portland Row) to facilitate 49 housing units - despite the vocal opposition of the community and local sporting heroes - is a direct parallel to the encroachment happening in Dublin 10.”
In an open letter to Dublin City Council , Ms Murphy has outlined her concerns and called on measures to be put in place to protect public pitches in light of major regeneration projects across the North Inner City.
“We are the ones who wash the mud off the jerseys, who stand on the side-lines in the rain, and who know that a football pitch is the only safe place our children have left.” she said.
“You call our pitches ‘underutilised.’ We call them the heart of Dublin. We are watching a housing crisis turn into a displacement crisis, where our families are being scattered all over the Greater Dublin Area and further afield. These are the Pitches of the Nannies - the only roots our displaced families have left to come back to.
“You aren't just building over concrete; you are building over the launchpads of our heroes and demolishing the dreams of our grandchildren. Research shows that structured sport is a transformative tool for neurodivergent kids, channelling energy into discipline and self-esteem.
“We have been the ones most impacted by the housing crisis because we only have to throw a stone and we know somebody that’s either in homeless accommodation or we’ve been through the system ourselves. Leave their hands off the pitches and sort out the vacant homes and you wouldn't have to take those spaces.”
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