Dublin’s anti-migrant fences: ‘Government policy seems to be out of sight, out of mind’
The supposed solution to tents along the Grand canal in Dublin has been kilometres of barriers set to stay in place until October. John Meagher speaks to the migrants who see the area as a haven and the locals hoping for better options
Dublin’s anti-migrant fences
It is a classic Dublin vista. Stand on Leeson Street’s Eustace Bridge facing east and take in the final stretch of the 132km Grand Canal. Fringed with trees and thick foliage along the towpath, all reflected in the water, it’s a bucolic sight amid the bustle of the south inner city. It seems especially magical this time of year. “So stilly greeny at the heart of summer,” as Patrick Kavanagh famously put it.
Quite what the great poet would have made of the steel fencing alongside his beloved canal is anyone’s guess. For the past six weeks or so, two metre-high steel fencing has run along the canal from the Clanwilliam Place, not far from the Aviva Stadium, to the bridge at Harold’s Cross, some 3km away. Every week, it seems to grow longer.
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