Dublin

Garda leave cancelled as ‘Swifties’ join bumper weekend of events in Dublin

Taylor Swift concert, Croke Park matches and Pride events could bring more than 200,000 into Dublin city on Saturday

Grace Ewing, Clara Cormican and Darcy McKenna from Dublin happy with their purchase of Taylor Swift merchandise at the 3Arena on Thursday in advance of the Taylor Swift Concerts over the weekend. Photograph: Alan Betson

Barry J Whyte
Thu Jun 27 2024 - 16:50

Dublin has adequate plans in place to deal with an influx of 600,000 people for various cultural events this weekend, a senior Garda has said amid concerns of taxi shortages and gridlock.

Chief Supt John Gordon, who has responsibility for roads policing in the Dublin Metropolitan Area, said there was “a full roads-policing plan to manage traffic across the city”.

An Garda Síochána has declared “extraordinary event status” for the weekend. The declaration – used last year for US president Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland – means Garda leave days and rest days are cancelled to ensure sufficient members of the force are on duty for the relevant period.

Dublin will host multiple large events on Saturday, including a Taylor Swift concert in Lansdowne Road, high-profile Gaelic football matches in Croke Park, and Pride events in the city centre, all of which could bring more than 200,000 people into Dublin city through the day.

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That number could rise to 350,000 in total in the wider Dublin area as people travel to the Longitude music festival in Marlay Park, concerts by Shania Twain in Malahide and the Saw Doctors in Fairview Park, and as many as 70,000 visitors a day to the Flavours of Fingal food festival in north Dublin.

Chief Supt Gordon said a dedicated events room had been set up for each event, each overseen by a chief superintendent, with two chief superintendents overseeing all the events collectively from an events room in Heuston Station.

While the confluence of events will make it a very busy weekend in Dublin, on top of the ordinary surge in tourist numbers in June, the “events are staggered, so they won’t all be landing at the same time”, he pointed out.

Various stakeholders, including local authorities, promoters and response agencies, have been in planning discussions over the weekend’s events for the last three months, according to Dr Pat Leahy, formerly the assistant Garda commissioner for the Dublin Metropolitan Region, now a private consultant who works in large event management.

Dr Leahy described the weekend as “a great opportunity for Dublin city, which I think is well capable of managing something like this”.

Nonetheless, the number and scale of events in Dublin this weekend have led to concerns about the city’s transport capacity.

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The National Transport Authority has said it is “likely to be very challenging from a public transport point of view”. The Taxis for Ireland Coalition, a lobby group for the taxi industry, has advised Swifties – fans of the visiting US pop star – and other people in Dublin this weekend of a likely shortage of taxis.

Jennifer Kilduff, a spokesperson for AA Ireland, who will be attending the Shania Twain concert in Malahide on Saturday, said: “It’s not the day for bringing your kids in to look around shops, if you don’t have any other reason to be in the city.”

Hazel Chu, a Green Party councillor for Dublin City Council, said the weekend would prove to be a good test of Dublin’s transport infrastructure.

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“This weekend will show why it’s not good to have so many cars coming into the city, and instead having more frequent public transport that runs well.”

The various events will also highlight Dublin’s usability as a city for pedestrians, she said, and will “be a good test of just how well people can navigate the city, and whether it is a pedestrian friendly city”.

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