A controversial plan by Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council to build a halting site for travellers in Dalkey Quarry will turn a much-used amenity into a no-go area, according to local residents. The proposal is also being contested by the Mountaineering Council of Ireland (MCI), which says it would "effectively end" a 60-year tradition of rock-climbing in the quarry.
"It's like proposing to put a halting site in the middle of Croke Park," says a contributor to a website set up by the MCI to provide a forum for discussion on the issue.
The scheme is proving by far the most controversial of 16 sites planned by the council to comply with new legislation requiring local authorities to provide adequate accommodation for travellers. Dalkey's status as Dublin's most exclusive suburb has been copperfastened by the sale of a nearby house for £5.9 million last week. The quarry is a reminder of a more humble era. From 1817 stone was quarried from the hill to build the east pier of Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) Harbour. Six million tons of stone were transported down narrow-gauge tramways until the area was designated a public park in 1914.
The first climbers came to the quarry in 1942, and since then over 300 climbs have been developed. "Today it is the most important climbing area in Ireland, and receives almost as much usage as all the other climbing crags in Ireland," says Mr Joss Lynam of the MCI.
The quarry and the adjoining Killiney Hill park are also widely used by walkers, runners and orienteers. Badgers, foxes and birds thrive in the untended vegetation, and the area is eerily silent. On a clear day the views, stretching from Dublin Bay across the city to the mountains, are spectacular.
The council plans to build a five-bay halting site in the West Valley, in an area bounded by Ardbrugh Road and Burton Road, which leads to the car-park on Killiney Hill. The assistant county manager, Mr Liam Byrne, says the scheme is planned for a "side quarry", which is not used by climbers. The site will be screened from view and will not significantly affect the area. "Indeed, we should be able to improve access," he says.
His claims are rejected by climbers. Mr Lynam says he has been climbing in the West Quarry since 1948 and he can't understand how the council can claim the area is not used for climbing. "It might be argued that only a part of the amenity would be involved, but any interference with a part would affect the attractiveness of the whole."
The climbers and local residents make uneasy bedfellows. "It isn't so long ago that they were complaining about cars being parked on the road, but now they're falling over themselves for our support," says one climber.
Mr Lynam dismisses some of the residents' objections as nimbyism (not in my back yard), such as their claim that the roads are too narrow for travellers' caravans. Both groups agree that a quarry with sheer walls and deep drops is an unsafe place for children. "For safety reasons it would be necessary to fence off all the crags, effectively closing the quarry to climbing," says Mr Lynam.
Dr Mike Cooke of the Save Dalkey Hill campaign says it is ironic that while Dalkey is being promoted as a heritage town tourists will be presented with a no-go area if the site is built. He acknowledges the right of travellers to be housed, but points out that Dalkey village is home to several settled traveller families. "This is not Millionaires' Row. It's a mixed area, ranging from wealthy to very poor. Older people living in the cottages are absolutely petrified at the prospect of a camp near their homes," he says.
But Mr Byrne has the problem of finding suitable sites. "You look at any site you can develop. There is very little land available in Dalkey, so the search area is limited."
As Mr John O'Connell of Pavee Point points out, currently there are 1,200 traveller families living by the side of the road in appalling conditions. And the fewer sites there are, the greater the risk of overcrowding.
Meanwhile, housing development continues to creep up the hill. The last time the council tried to put a site in the area it earmarked an adjacent quarry which is not used by climbers. However, the site was rejected as unsuitable. Today, six private houses stand on the plot, each one worth at least £250,000.
A public meeting on the proposal to build a halting site at Dalkey Quarry takes place in Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel, Killiney, at 8 p.m. today.
