Council reopens gates in park dispute

A man who claims to own a park in the centre of a square in Dublin has said he will take action against Dublin City Council after it reopened the gates.

Noel O'Gara, of Ballinahowen, Athlone, locked the gates of the park in the centre of Dartmouth Square in south Dublin, excluding local residents, after claiming ownership of it last week.

Mr O'Gara claims his company, Marble and Granite Tiles Ltd, purchased the park from Patrick Darley, whose family had owned the land, in the last few months "for a bargain price".

The council had been leasing it from the Darley Estate and operating it as a public park since the late 1980s. The lease expired in 1997, according to Mr O'Gara, but the council continued to maintain it.

Yesterday council staff cut and removed the chains on the gates placed there by Mr O'Gara. They said they would endeavour to keep the park as a public open space and were waiting to ascertain the legal extent to Mr O'Gara's right to the land.

Mr O'Gara yesterday told The Irish Times that the council had yielded up possession of the park to him a week ago and was breaking the law by reopening it.

"I will be going up to take repossession of it. I will weld up the gates," he said. "The council are breaking the law and leaving themselves wide open to an action for damages."

He said he had only just received a letter from the council requesting proof of ownership and he would be speaking to his solicitor shortly.

A council spokesman said the local authority believed it was acting legally by opening the gates. "We will consider our position if and when any proceedings are issued," he added.