Dublin’s Mug Shot coffee trailer in Bridgefoot Street closes over escalating drug-related issues in park
The Mug Shot coffee trailer in Bridgefoot Street Park has closed due to escalating drug-related issues in the Dublin 8 amenity.
The social enterprise was a popular spot to relax and unwind since its opening in 2023, but Pace (Prisoners Aid through Community Effort), who runs the operation, said that drug-related issues in the park had forced their hand.
Funded by the probation service, Pace’s main goal is to help people get back into employment after time in prison or after acquiring a criminal record.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, Pace CEO Maggie Clune said the cafe simply chose not to reopen this year after its closure for Christmas.
Drug-related issues were not an issue in the park when the kiosk first opened, but she said in the last six months, drug dealing had become “much more noticeable”.
“We just decided then that, you know, we can’t have our workers in that vicinity,” she said. “When you have people employed, you have a duty of care, and that’s where the decision came from.
"It was a management decision. We have a duty of care to the staff, to the locals, to the community. So we felt [closure] was the best option.
“When you’re a manager, you have to continuously assess the risk. And I guess we felt that there was an opportunity for it to get to a level where perhaps the safety of the staff could be at risk. So, we didn’t want to go there.”
Bridgefoot Street Park was one of the antisocial behaviour black spots highlighted in a recent report from Dublin City Council (DCC) parks staff.
In it, they said the park suffered from “daily ongoing drug dealing activity” and noted that cafe staff had faced “aggressive behaviour” from individuals in the park.
“Persistent narcotics-related activity continues to undermine the amenity and safety of Bridgefoot Park,” it noted. “Garda engagement has been proactive but reactive in nature, with daily patrols dispersing but not deterring repeat offenders.”
Ms Clune said it was a “tough decision” to close on such a “fantastic community”, but it’s “what we have to do for now.”
She said the council and the gardaí were doing “whatever they can” to address the issues with drugs in the park, but that “their hands are tied in a lot of situations when it comes to young people.”
The coffee trailer is hoping to reopen when the weather improves and locals return in more significant numbers, she said.
“I think once the sunny weather comes back and the longer evenings, people will be drawn to the park, and I think that will reduce any negative activity that’s been going on.”
Pace’s other Mug Shot station, at the Four Courts car park across the river, is going from strength to strength, however.
They are looking to install a larger cart there with space for more than one staff member, said Ms Clune, and increase the range of products they serve.