SOME OF the country’s best-known climbing routes at Dalkey Quarry in south Dublin have been damaged after local authority workers decided they were unsafe and removed rock with a bulldozer.
Their action on Friday has caused anger among rockclimbers, who have used the routes regularly for more than 50 years. The climbs are of historical importance as they represent different phases in the growth of the sport in Ireland, according to John Duignan of the Irish Mountaineering Club.
Mr Duignan said a mechanical digger had smashed into a granite wall where the climbs were located, causing “irreparable” damage. A large section of the base of each climb had been removed, altering them forever.
“This isn’t about pretty paths and the right of others to use the quarry; this is Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council vandalising the sport,” he claimed. “These climbs will never be the same as they were.”
A spokeswoman for the council confirmed parks staff removed a section of the crag during “routine maintenance” on Friday. “There was an outcrop of rock which appeared to be unsafe and they removed it.” No deliberate interference with routes used by climbers had been intended, she said, adding that the council would be happy to talk to climbers about the maintenance work.
