MetroLink: Transport chief hints at reprieve for Na Fianna pitches

Proposals to requisition lands belonging to schools and sports clubs in Glasnevin, Dublin for the construction of the Metro Link rail line, could yet be reversed, the chief executive of the National Transport Authority has said.

Anne Graham said the authority would consider an "alternative option" to the use of the Na Fianna GAA club and adjoining school pitches on Mobhí Road as the construction site for the €3 billion line, which could include "other sites".

She was responding to recent comments by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who said the proposals would cause "enormous damage" to the schools and sports clubs that use the land on Mobhí Road. He asked that the authority find "an alternative option" for the construction site.

The authority was reviewing the Glasnevin site on the basis of submissions it had received, Ms Graham said. “The Taoiseach put forward that we consider an alternative option and that would be something that we always would consider in terms of the submissions that we receive,” she added.

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‘Mitigate’

The authority was considering options which could “mitigate” the impact of the construction work on Na Fianna and the surrounding properties.

“We will be doing that work over the next number of months and would come forward if there are other options”. Those other other options could “possibly be other sites,” she said.

Plans for the €3 billion Metro Link project include a proposal to establish a major infrastructural construction site and an underground train station on Mobhí Road.

This would require the requisition for a period of six years of Na Fianna GAA club’s front pitch, its two all-weather pitches, Home Farm’s soccer pitch, and lands used to access t Scoil Mobhí and Scoil Chaitríona.

The line, which is due to open in 2027, will run from Swords to Sandyford, serving Dublin Airport and the city centre.