'I cried when I heard it was going to close': Crèche forced to close after dispute with Church

'Tusla register us and inspect us. We are inspected by Pobal for funding purposes, and neither of those bodies have a problem,' Christina O'Riordan says in response to the Archdiocese's claims it must close due to safety concerns. Picture: Moya Nolan

A preschool and after-school service catering for over 40 children is being forced to close its doors before Christmas because of the dispute with the Catholic Church in its locality.

The Home Farm Montessori, based in a parish hall in Drumcondra on Dublin’s northside, has been ordered to vacate the premises by December 23 over fire safety concerns — even though the building has been deemed safe to occupy by the service owner’s own engineers. Christina O’Riordan, who has been running the service for 28 years, says she offered to pay for the remediation works required but this was rejected by the parish.