Improvements at the Cabbage Patch Park

Development is well underway at the Cabbage Patch Park off Kevin Street in The Liberties and a number of events have taken place to improve the area.

These included a community clean up, a free electrical recycling day and a community fair that featured a performance from the oldest band in Ireland, the St.James Street brass and reed band. The events were organised to create a cleaner and more communal area for the residents.

Kelley Bermingham, who works at St Patrick’s Cathedral community office, spoke to The Liberty about the main issues they will be trying to tackle over the coming months.

“Anti-social behaviour and intimidation in the area are still our number one priority at this point,” she said. The park has long been associated with anti-social behaviour and many locals felt that it was no longer serving the community but it is hoped the development will change this perspective.

The gardai have doubled their presence in the area and are hoping to see some impact within the next five weeks. They are also hoping to place CCTV around the park but this can cause issues. “The CCTV would have to be very carefully placed in order to respect the privacy of the houses surrounding the park” Kelley said.

She also questioned whether or not the CCTV would even end up being useful saying that it can “sometimes cause people to act up more” and that “they just wear hoodies and cover their faces so it doesn’t lead to any convictions.”

To try tackle the anti social behaviour, a group of residents have formed called the ‘cabbage quarter residents group’. They have taken on the responsibility of being a neighbourhood watch for the area and will report any disruptions to the police anonymously.

Regarding the development in the park itself, Kelley said there are already plans underway for some art installations. The Iveagh Trust have funded an entire wall in the gardens to be painted with a timeline of the history of the area. The area has a rich history and the park itself is a former graveyard. “We’re hoping to recruit a local artist to work alongside the children in the area to create a storyline of events” she said. “Its gaining a lot of attraction with even RTE looking to follow the journey”

The Meade Street Youth Group are also working on a “Hope Garden” to commemorate all the people who have died by suicide in the area.

These developments will begin over the summer months and it is hoped they will be unveiled in August.