Dublin Inquirer

6 days ago | dublininquirer.com | Lois Kapila

At a little after 11am on Thursday, a woman squeezed through a gap in the bent railings at the western end of the Irish National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge. Her head was down. She was following a route on her phone on Google Maps. Behind her, a long tarmac path ran gently upwards through what is known these days at Liffey Valley Park. It was deserted.

6 days ago | dublininquirer.com | Laoise Neylon

Three of the four Dublin-area councils didn’t use a fast-track system for funding social housing for any of the homes that they built last year. To access funding for new social homes, councils usually have to go back and forth with  the Department of Housing, through what is known as the four-stage approvals process. The system has come in for regular criticism as slow and bureaucratic, taking, on average, more than 120 weeks, and so creating long lead-in times for new homes.

6 days ago | dublininquirer.com | Laoise Neylon

“Having private, for-profit care goes against all you are trying to achieve for children in care,” says Terry Dignan, a spokesperson for the Children’s Residential and Aftercare Voluntary Association, representing the charities that run children’s homes, among other services. There is a major shortage of placements for kids in care, so some are being moved around between emergency placements.

6 days ago | dublininquirer.com | Lois Kapila

The mystery of the falling windows on Bishop Street This week the roadway was again covered in shattered glass fallen from the Boat House office block there. The Boat House building, several of its windows boarded up. Photo by Lois Kapila. May 09 2025 12:03 AM 2 min read Share Author Lois Kapila is deputy editor at Dublin Inquirer. You can reach her at [email protected].

6 days ago | dublininquirer.com | Michael Lanigan

Our PicksOur recommendations – no sponsored content, or adverts, just stuff we like. Other Ground at The Lab Gallery, in Dublin 1Last week, Cork-based painter Pascal Ungerer launched his new show, Other Ground, in The Lab Gallery on Foley Street. Curated by Margarita Cappock, Pascal’s work on show looks at the relationship and conflict between the built and natural world, drawing influence from archaeology, which he says is a “means of uncovering hidden layers of meaning within the everyday”.