Aidan O’Donoghue talks to people on the street about their opinion of Sandymount
Francis X. Carty has lived in the area all his life. “In my sixty-five years here I have seen many changes”, says Francis. “Before, you had five butchers around the place but there’s only one left now. You had The Gem where Brown’s is now. The bank was once where Scarecrow’s is, and when sent to the shops by my mother I would regularly see the number 2 and 3 tram coming along.”

Francis believes that the essence of Sandymount has been retained down through the decades. “All the new shops have been absorbed quite well and the original village atmosphere hasn’t been lost which is very important.

“There’s no place exactly like Sandymount– you have the railway, the buses, the sea. And we’re close to town so if you want to avoid all the traffic you can just walk. It really is that great,” he says with a smile.

Siobhan Langan is doing a spot of shopping on a pleasant afternoon in Sandymount village. Although she lives in Irishtown, it is often necessary for Siobhan to come to Sandymount because of the dearth of supermarkets in her immediate locality.

“People from Ringsend have to make their way to Sandymount if they want to shop in a supermarket,” says Siobhan. “We need to rebuild that sense of community and there certainly ought to be a more visible police presence about the place.”

Having grown up in Sandymount, Karen Sadlier has found it a decent place to live.

“Sandymount has most of the things you would need in terms of shops,” she says. “But as for things to do at night, there’s not much for young people. All the bars are geared towards the older crowd so young people have to go to town to find a bar that suits us.”

Overall, though, Karen is happy to live where she does. “I think people do get on well with each other round these parts. I know all my neighbours in Beach Drive and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Although she does not live in the area, Frances Cuddy spends a lot of time in Sandymount through working in Butler’s Pantry. The thing that regularly disappoints Frances is the quality of the transport services. “The bus services to Sandymount are absolutely terrible, especially the number 2 and the 3. You just can’t rely on them. And if you drive you’re going to find yourself stuck for somewhere to park,” says Frances. “I think that a car park would be very useful but then again nobody wants an ugly grey car park on their street so it’s a tough one.”

Apart from the transport problem she finds working in Sandymount very enjoyable. “It’s a fine area to work in, with plenty of shops and cafes around. All the other businesses around are quite friendly in my experience.”

Phil Roberts is over from Holywell in Wales to see his daughter who has just had a baby. He visits the area a few times a year and is always impressed.

“I love coming to Sandymount,” Phil says. It’s very, very friendly here and we are always made welcome. I very much like the area, and from my own experiences here and from what my daughter has told me I think it is a fantastic place to raise a young family.”

Grainne Scollard of Sandymount Avenue is out in the green with her young children. She is unhappy with the state of facilities for children. “There are a lot of things lacking for children growing up in the area, like proper playgrounds,” she says. “There’s one down in Irishtown but that is a disgrace what with all the broken glass and syringes around the place, not to mention the rust.”

“There’s one in Herbert Park which is okay but there isn’t a whole lot in it and there are no toilet facilities, which is ridiculous considering the fact that there are so many children around. You would expect better in today’s Ireland.

“Of course you have swimming pools and tennis clubs, but they all cost money. The green is fantastic and Sandymount is a relatively safe place to live but there’s a lot of improvement needed in specific areas.”