Rear of Mountjoy Square afterschool centre being used as a toilet
Croke Park
can be joyous occasions, but they bring a certain level of dread for staff at the nearby Community After School Project (CASPr) in Dublin's northeast inner city.
Each day, staff attempt to keep 30 or so children as young as six to one end of a long room in an ageing building within the confines of Mountjoy Square Park, due to a continuous and strong smell of urine.
A rusting door at the rear, used by staff to enter the premises, is urinated on 'every day' by passersby and park users – and, during big occasions in Croke Park, match-goers.
The door has holes at its base with more forming through the rust, allowing the urine to enter.
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Lino flooring inside, meanwhile, is stained from various attempts by staff to wash away the smell over the years with 'industrial strength' cleaning products.
During a warm day last week, CASPr's chief executive Dr Tom O'Brien pointed to the corner of the building that is so often used as a toilet while children are inside.
The back door at the Community After School Project in Mountjoy Square, Dublin, where some passersby, park users and match-goers urinate. Photograph: Tom Honan
'My nose is kind of blocked, but the smell is building up here, you can smell it, it's gone in under the building,' he said.
Staff find themselves 'dreading every Monday', particularly after matches at Croke Park, he said.
'The smell when you go in, it's just against human dignity to have that smell, for children particularly.'
Any sort of issue you're trying to address, it's very slow to get responses, it makes you feel disempowered, voiceless. You kind of give up after a while
—
CASPr chief executive Dr Tom O'Brien
Initially set up by local parents in 1995 to tackle educational disadvantage, CASPr provides a space for children to get help with homework, take part in activities and go on trips.
'It's about keeping the children in education but it's also about giving them a consistent place to come each day – because otherwise, it's running the streets of Seán McDermott Street and Summerhill, which are open havens to get into the wrong lifestyle,' said Ruth Breen, CASPr's designated safeguarding and community liaison officer.
The project at Mountjoy Square Park is to be relocated to the site of a creche within the Hardwicke Street flats, though this is contingent on the creche's relocation to the original Rutland Street School building which is undergoing redevelopment.
'This is my third year as CEO but this is going on 10 years, this promise of moving,' Dr O'Brien said.
Long-term issues inside the building, meanwhile, include non-functioning heating, leading to children wearing coats inside in the winter.
The most pressing issue for staff, however, is the frequent urination, for which repeated requests for assistance from the council have been made.
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Dublin's north inner city and Cork's northside identified as the dirtiest places in Ireland
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Jasmine Cumiskey, a staff member who had just told a man to stop urinating on the door, said the smell is at its 'worst' in the summer months.
'You're trying to keep 30 kids to one end of the room because the smell is so bad,' she said.
Council officials visited in May to assess the issues, which was 'encouraging', staff say, though there has been 'little to no follow-up' since then.
'Any sort of issue you're trying to address, it's very slow to get responses, it makes you feel disempowered, voiceless. You kind of give up after a while,' Dr O'Brien said.
Asked about the ongoing issues,
Dublin City Council
said a contractor has been appointed to carry out essential repairs 'without delay.'
The works are expected to be completed by the end of July, the council said, and will include the installation of an aluminium 'emergency door', and the replacement of the floor lino near the rear door.
It said communication will continue with management concerning the relocation to the Hardwicke Street flats, which has been 'agreed in principle'.
'Dublin City Council remains committed to ensuring the safety and functionality of community facilities across the city,' it said.
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
How eating disorders are changing: ‘I'm not the stereotype. I'm a man, I'm plus-sized'
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These challenges, he says, all came from the same place: a desire to be able to exert control. He is now five years sober. 'When I got sober, it was like I was in a house that was on fire. Sobriety put the fire out, but now I'm standing in rubble and I have to build the house again,' he was when he seriously sought help for his eating disorder. 'In April 2020 I got sober for the last time. A year after that, in 2021, I had a year of sobriety under my belt. My 30s were knocking on my door and I thought, I cannot live like this forever and the only person who can change this was me.' One difficulty he found when seeking help, he says, was the questioning attitude and scepticism he faced by some healthcare professionals because he doesn't fit the common eating-disorder stereotype: a young woman or teenager with anorexia. 'I am the opposite of the stereotype in that I'm a man, I'm plus-sized, I wasn't restricting food,' he adds. 'There is all this messaging around fatness or plus-sized people that if you're fat it's a moral failing or you're lazy or you don't care about how you look. But that's just not true.' William Dwyer Joyce: 'I am the opposite of the stereotype.' Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill This stereotype is beginning to change, according to Laura Casey, director of services at Lois Bridges, an eating disorder treatment centre in Sutton, north Co Dublin. The number of young men seeking help at the centre has increased in recent years, she notes. Casey attributes this rise to the increasing gym culture seen online – in which men are constantly fed images of bodybuilders with very little body fat – combined with the masculine tendency of men to keep their feelings to themselves. 'But when they do go and reach out, they're not heard the same. Their voices can be dismissed a bit easier,' she says. Another changing trend is the prevalence of a condition known as avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, or Arfid, which is often diagnosed among people who are neurodivergent. 'It's sometimes called the beige diet; they eat a lot of chicken nuggets and chips. But we're moving away now from language that describes these people as being a picky eater, and acknowledging in many cases they have a sensory aversion to something.' Laura Casey, director of services at Lois Bridges eating disorder treatment centre in Sutton, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill According to Casey, Arfid can have a significant impact on an individual, particularly in a social setting. 'Sometimes a person's diet is so restrictive they won't eat. There is a lot of shame and stigma if all they are able to eat is a chicken fillet roll. So, nutritionally, they can be at the same risk as anorexia. It affects their vitamin intake and electrolytes,' she says. When it comes to certain foods, some people with this diagnosiscan have a panic attack or feel like they're choking. 'They can only eat yoghurts and drinks,' she adds. Awareness of eating disorders has increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, when there was a rise in the number of referrals for treatment to HSE eating-disorder teams, who provide specialist treatment. HSE data shows there were 894 referrals to such teams last year, a 33 per cent increase on 2023. There was also a 24 per cent rise in accepted referrals, where patients proceed to treatment after an initial consultation. A total of 562 patients were assessed last year, of which 90 per cent were female and 59 per cent were children under the age of 18. One-third were teenagers aged between 15 and 17. Still, the service also saw the number of adults accessing treatment increase by 51 per cent. You're either too sick for the psychiatric hospitals or you go into a general hospital and there's no help there for these things — 'Rebecca' Of those assessed, 503 had an eating disorder, 118 more diagnoses than in 2023. Some 63 per cent (318) presented with anorexia nervosa; 18 per cent (97) with an 'other specified feeding or eating disorder' (OSFED); 8 per cent (42) with bulimia nervosa; 3 per cent (16) with Arfid; and 2 per cent (10) with binge-eating disorder. Many eating disorders begin the teenage years. But disorders often don't end there. Rebecca, not her real name, was first brought to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services ( Camhs ) at age 15. However, she believes this 'did a lot more harm than good'. Although she acknowledges there are many good people working in the service, she was unhappy with the attitudes she faced in relation to her anorexia. Then the coronavirus lockdown happened, shutting down vast swathes of regular life. 'Everything was gone, and I deteriorated very rapidly.' Following this, she underwent a 'string of hospital admissions and A&E presentations' to help with her diagnosis, but she says it was like a 'revolving door'. 'You're either too sick for the psychiatric hospitals or you go into a general hospital and there's no help there for these things. You're stuck between nothing that will help,' she says. 'When you go into a general hospital, it's really only for one thing: to be fed against your will. But it's so important to get to the root cause of it. It was very difficult to find help that suited me. And then when people do offer you that help, it's hard to accept it if you've had bad experiences. I'm still struggling a lot.' The almost 21-year-old makes a comparison to alcoholism: relapse can be a common challenge for people, and oftentimes the difficulties of the illness are persistent. 'But there's no AA meetings [for eating disorders] around the country that you can pop into. 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What did I do to deserve this?' Trying to find somewhere to go is something many patients experience. Alicia Woods, clinical nurse specialist at Lois Bridges, says the centre is a private facility, but they receive 'phone calls everyday of the week from people who don't have private health insurance'. 'We treat a range of eating disorders. And in terms of age, we've treated from 18 up to people in their early 70s,' she says. 'The majority of older people with eating disorders have had it their whole life but they just haven't had the information, education or support to seek help. Some people do develop it later in life.' Though Woods says the reasons why individuals develop eating disorders are complex and nuanced, she believes social media is playing a role. 'Body positivity was such a thing, but now we've gone back almost 20 years. 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She says: 'It doesn't just take one go. People often feel guilty when they have to go back. But it's such a complex illness.' The Tallaght woman is four years in 'proper recovery', but she says for her that doesn't mean the eating disorder is 'completely gone', but just now she has the 'resilience' to acknowledge and challenge those urges when they arise. She writes poetry to help her cope. She looks at inspirational quotes hung up on her wall. 'Sometimes I wish I could wake up, go about the day, not having all of these overwhelming feelings – the eating disorder and mental health [difficulties]. But it doesn't work that way. It can be frustrating. But it's about findings ways to deal with it.' Bodywhys (The Eating Disorders Association of Ireland) – – (01) 210 7906 – alex@
The Journal
10 hours ago
- The Journal
Charlie Bird's wife supporting All-Ireland morning walk in aid of Motor Neurone Disease
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Sunday World
11 hours ago
- Sunday World
Boy settles for €3.3m after suffering ‘catastrophic' injury from fall in Dublin park
James Higgins (12), from East Wall, Dublin 3 hit his head at a Dublin City Council-owned park almost 10 years ago A boy who suffered 'catastrophic and life-changing' injuries after he fell and hit his head at a Dublin City Council-owned park almost 10 years ago has settled a High Court action against the local authority and a GP with an interim payment of €3.3 million. Arising from the incident, James Higgins (12), from East Wall, Dublin 3, requires around-the-clock care, is essentially non-verbal, suffers with epilepsy and will be a wheelchair user for life, the court heard on Friday. The interim settlement agreement was reached following mediation, and the case will return to court in six years. The court heard there were complex questions relating to causation and liability in the case. The case had been contested. Kevin Higgins brought proceedings on behalf of his son James against Dublin City Council and Dr John Taylor, claiming they acted negligently and in breach of their duties. Maypark in north Dublin. Photo: Google News in 90 Seconds - July 25th James's counsel Jeremy Maher SC, appearing with Conor Power SC and barrister Conor Roberts and instructed by Gibson solicitors, said James, when he was 2½ years old, suffered 'catastrophic and life-changing' arising from a fall at May Park, Malahide Road, Dublin 5, on December 1st, 2015. Outlining James's case, Mr Maher said the boy, while retrieving a football, fell on an all-weather soccer pitch where slush had accumulated, and hit the left side of his head. Mr Maher said it was their case the pitch was in dangerous condition and should not have been in use, and that Dublin City Council was in breach of its duty and negligent in its management of the park. James was subsequently brought to Dr Taylor's surgery at Ardlea Road, Artane, Dublin 5, Mr Maher said, where it is alleged the GP was negligent and breached his duty in failing to immediately refer the child to hospital. James was later that evening brought to Children's Health Ireland Temple Street. There, it was determined he'd suffered a bleed within his skull, and underwent emergency surgery, Mr Maher said. Mr Maher said this surgery was life-saving, but the damage had advanced to such an extent that James was left with devastating injuries. Counsel said James requires around-the-clock care, is essentially non-verbal, suffers with epilepsy and will never be able to work or live independently. He said James's 'heroic' parents had given up their careers to care for James. He added said that following mediation, the defendants had agreed the interim settlement of €3.3 million on a joint and several basis. Mr Justice Paul Coffey approved the settlement, stating that James's case is a reminder of the fragility of life, and the limitless nature of parental love. He said it was 'deeply humbling' to listen to Mr Higgins address the court about James's condition and their experience of his care.
