Feeling uncomfortable in the city centre

RECENT reports of drunk and disorderly behaviour on the ‘Paris-style’ Liffey boardwalk will hardly come as a surprise to anyone who frequents Dublin city centre, especially in the evening.

The prevalence of public drinking and the apparent indifference of the gardaí to this activity must inevitably give rise to some ugly situations.

About a month ago, on a Friday night, my wife and I went to the Gate Theatre. We took the DART to Connolly station, arriving at about 7.15pm, and walked through Talbot Street and O’Connell Street to the theatre, a distance of about one mile.

En route we passed several groups of beer drinkers at that early hour, but not a single garda was to be seen.

Leaving the theatre at about 10.30pm, we encountered even more public drinkers, some of them now extending polystyrene coffee cups as begging bowls when we passed. It wasn’t aggressive begging, but it was off-putting.

The plinths of the newly-installed Barry Flanagan rabbit sculptures have provided more bench space for such activity. We quickly decided against having a drink in town and headed back to the DART by the same route.

Again, we didn’t see a single garda on our walk. While we saw no fights or rows, we had the uncomfortable feeling that it wouldn’t take much to spark an incident.

Considerable disruption has been endured and a small fortune spent attempting to convert O’Connell Street into our very own Champs-Elysées.

However, unless steps are taken to curtail anti-social activities, it’s going to remain a no-go area at night for most sensible people. I hate to think what visitors make of it.

Peter Molloy

9 Haddington Park

Glenageary

Co Dublin