Dublin-New York portal to close until ‘later this week’ after bid to blur lewd images fails

The Dublin Portal is to switch off at 10pm on Tuesday night in an attempt to find a solution to the problems of people misusing the platform.

The portal that provides a direct real-time link from Dublin’s North Earl Street to people walking past on New York’s Fifth Avenue has proved a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

It has attracted large crowds every day and even hosted an engagement proposal a few days after going live on May 8th.

However, it has also attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Some people on the Dublin side have been putting up pornographic images to the camera while one person posted video footage of the Twin Towers on fire during 9/11.

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The problems have not been confined to the Dublin side. An OnlyFans model showed her breasts to onlookers in Dublin and then posted it on TikTok and Instagram. The New York portal was closed down for a time as a result.

The Dublin portal was also closed down, but reopened Monday night while Dublin City Council worked on a solution to stop people posting inappropriate images using their mobile phones.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, the council said: “The team behind the Portal art sculpture, Portals.org, has been investigating possible technical solutions to inappropriate behaviour by a small minority of people in front of the portal.

“Unfortunately the preferred solution, which would have involved blurring, was not satisfactory.

[ The Dublin Portal: When a New Yorker gave them the finger, Dubliners returned the gesture ]

“As a result the portal will be switched off at 10pm tonight [Tuesday] and the team at Portals.org have told us they expect it will be switched back on later this week.”

The council said the success of the portal has become a “global phenomenon” and that the majority of Irish people have “behaved appropriately” as a result.

The council added: “We are delighted by how many people have been enjoying the portal since it was launched last week.”