Sir, I was glad to see Frank McDonald's articles about Ballymun on January 14th and 15th. Anyone reading only the first article would be left with the impression that things in Ballymun were at a low ebb, and while the second article indicated that there were in fact some rays of hope, like Father Peter Scally (January 22nd), I feel that he could have gone further, but in a slightly different direction.
Anyone who has not visited Ballymun in the last year or so should do so and see for themselves the regeneration that has begun. Walk through the bright attractive covered shopping centre - you wouldn't get better in many suburbs of Dublin. There is no litter, and you could eat your dinner off the floor it is so clean. Go into the Ballymun Partnership offices next door - a hive of activity, with high calibre staff doing many positive things. Look in on one or two of the local enterprise "incubator units" and see the level of skill and enthusiasm. Go upstairs to the Job Centre and training unit, you will find plenty going on, including a big engine room with perhaps 20 brand new computers for training Ballymun people with IT skills.
Sure, some of the tower blocks look grey and uninviting, with stair wells dirty and covered with graffiti (though a couple of the towers have been greatly improved by major refurbishment). Sure, the green grass areas between the blocks are mostly useless as recreation areas for the majority of residents young and old. Sure, there is a horrendously high level of unemployment and a drugs problem.
But the majority of the residents; are great people, many of whom are battling against huge odds, and just recently the patient work that has been going on for years to nurture the latent potential within the community has begun to bear fruit. The Ballymun Task Force, the Partnership, the Job Centre, all composed mainly of residents, and innumerable other initiatives deserve great credit for what they have achieved so far, and there are signs that the momentum is building up quite noticeably. In addition, and crucial to further progress, Dublin Corporation has recently adopted an extremely enlightened and supportive attitude to Ballymun and its residents, with the intention of involving those people who actually live there in the development of their locality. Who knows, maybe in 10 years time it will prove to be a model of urban regeneration.
Of course it cannot be denied that there are huge problems of all kinds to be sorted out, and life is anything but easy for most Ballymun residents as things are at present. But it is not all gloom! - Yours, etc.,
Abingdon,
Shankill, Dublin 18.