{"id":318458,"date":"2026-02-26T14:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/318458\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T14:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T14:53:10","slug":"rathgar-has-mixed-views-on-kenilworth-square-plan-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/318458\/","title":{"rendered":"Rathgar has mixed views on Kenilworth Square plan \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tied to the front gate of nearly every home surrounding Kenilworth Square in Rathgar<\/a>, south Dublin<\/a>, are posters calling for a rejection of plastic pitches and floodlights.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtect Kenilworth Square from irreversible damage\u201d and \u201csave our trees\u201d, the signs say, asking readers to \u201csign the petition now\u201d.<\/p>\n

These indicate a homeowner\u2019s support for a court challenge to plans to transform grass pitches within the square\u2019s grounds into two, including one with an all-weather 4G surface. Six floodlight fixtures are to be installed to enable the facility to be used in the winter evenings, says the project\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The rugby grounds are owned by the Spiritans, who run the private boys\u2019 school St Mary\u2019s College, a short walk away on Lower Rathmines Road.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Kenilworth Square rugby grounds. Photograph: Ellen O’Riordan <\/p>\n

Last week Judge David Nolan \u201creluctantly\u201d dismissed the High Court case brought by local campaign group Protect Kenilworth Square and resident Martin Joyce seeking to overturn a finding that the school does not need planning permission for its project.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, he granted the residents a temporary injunction preventing St Mary\u2019s from cutting down eight mature trees, which he said would take \u201cmany centuries\u201d to replace.<\/p>\n

He was told the residents\u2019 group intends to appeal his rejection of their case. The school says it would plant 74 new trees on the grounds.<\/p>\n

Early on Wednesday evening the sporting grounds, which are surrounded by tall black railings, were empty apart from dozens of seagulls. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Rathgar residents urged to \u2018calm down\u2019 as judge orders school not to fell treesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Kenilworth Square residents approached by The Irish Times declined to comment on the legal situation or the school\u2019s plans. The Irish Times learned residents involved in the challenge were warned not to speak due to the ongoing case.<\/p>\n

Walking around the square was Bill Kelly (82), a resident of Grosvenor Place around the corner. He said \u201cnearly 100 per cent\u201d of Kenilworth Square residents are opposed to the school\u2019s plans, while a bit of indifference grows as one goes further afield. <\/p>\n

His own view, as someone living in the locality for 23 years, is \u201cmixed\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the one hand I would like to preserve the square, because it is beautiful,\u201d he said, adding he supports moves to help children and sports. It would be \u201cvery sad\u201d if any of the \u201cbeautiful\u201d trees were to be removed, he said.<\/p>\n

Also out for a walk around the square was Catherine Garvin, from nearby Rathmines Road, who described the proposed changes as \u201cshocking\u201d and \u201ca disgrace\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlastic-filled … To dig up all that lovely green grass? It is really bad,\u201d she said, adding that people around the wider area are upset. She hopes the residents appeal the High Court\u2019s rejection of their case but said \u201cit is costing them a fortune\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AA Protect Kenilworth Square poster, as seen on many of the homes on the streets around the square. Photograph: Ellen O’Riordan <\/p>\n

Nearby, two teenage boys on bikes chanted loudly: \u201cFree, free Kenilworth\u201d and \u201cWe love astro, we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Derek Marconi (51), who was walking his two Weimaraner dogs around the square, said it is \u201cfair enough\u201d to install an all-weather pitch and floodlights but \u201cexcessive\u201d to remove mature trees and build a car park. <\/p>\n

Marconi, who lives on Kenilworth Park and donated to the court case but is not a participant, is a rugby fan and Leinster season ticket holder. He said he watched former St Mary\u2019s pupil and Ireland player Johnny Sexton play on the square\u2019s grounds many years ago. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing is the trees … If it is necessary to take them down, fine, but I can\u2019t see why it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Less invested is James Hennessy (70), a resident of the neighbouring Terenure village, who was walking around the square as he often does now that he is retired.<\/p>\n

Although \u201cabsolutely\u201d supportive of nature and against tree felling, he said all-weather pitches are becoming \u201cpart of life\u201d and allow kids\u2019 sport to continue all year round.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me on a personal level, it is money talking,\u201d he said in reference to the residents\u2019 court challenge.<\/p>\n

Liz Blacker, a member of Kenilworth for the Kids, which was established by local parents who support the school\u2019s plan, said the campaign group respects the court\u2019s decision to halt the tree felling and the rights of all parties to pursue their concerns through appropriate channels. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is, however, very disappointing for the many children, families and volunteer clubs who have been waiting patiently for improved facilities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tied to the front gate of nearly every home surrounding Kenilworth Square in Rathgar, south Dublin, are posters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318459,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[615,73,61,60,43,32860,12989],"class_list":{"0":"post-318458","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-dublin","9":"tag-high-court","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-rathgar","14":"tag-rathmines"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318458\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}