‘I’d give my last penny to make sure they aren’t in pain’: Locals help horses in Darndale Park

The park has become a ‘no-go area’ due to unattended horses and drug dealingDarndale Park in north Dublin has become dominated by horses and unusable for the local football club. Video: Enda O'Dowd Marie Staunton makes two rounds of Darndale Park every day with her dog, feeding horses straight out of her pocket. “I’ve just bought four bags of feed – celery, carrots, apples, cornflakes – I mix it all together, and they love it,” she says. “They see me coming with my bag and will come over to me for a cuddle.” Darndale Park used to be a lively community hub, but it has become a “no-go area” for the north Dublin community. Horse ownership is a local tradition passed down through generations in the Dublin suburb, but the issue of unattended animals has gone out of control, raising concerns for the public and the animals’ welfare.READ MOREStaunton, an animal lover, has lived in Darndale all her life. She checks in on the horses in the morning and evening and explains that although some horses are well looked after by their owners, others are left without food or care. Apart from the mostly unattended horses, there are other social issues, according to locals. Open drug dealing is another rampant issue. Drug dealers have a “stranglehold” over the park, local councillor John Lyons tells The Irish Times. Councillor John Lyons. Photograph: Enda O'Dowd/The Irish Times Sports events are curtailed as a result. The park run, set up in 2017, was a hugely popular initiative. However, it has been cancelled for the past six months due to safety concerns. Darndale FC can no longer play matches on the park’s pitches. Both Lyons and Staunton emphasise that many locals genuinely care for their horses. However, others are in over their heads, having purchased horses for as little as €50 before realising they don’t have the time or money to care for them. Staunton says the issue has worsened since the Ballinasloe Horse Fair in Co Galway, which finished on October 11th. [ Horse manure problems continue with bags dumped around Dublin suburbsOpens in new window ]Another Darndale local who preferred to remain anonymous and has lived in the area for more than 40 years, expressed concerns about loose horses that have wandered in to nearby housing estates. “It’s dangerous for the animals; I’ve heard of some wandering on to the Malahide Road. It’s dangerous for people too, children walking to school; there’s horse manure everywhere.”Lyons is part of a committee formed to deal with the issues at the park. 'It’s dangerous for the animals; I’ve heard of some wandering on to the Malahide Road.' Photograph: Enda O'Dowd/The Irish Times “I’ve been at meetings for a number of years where you have to restate the case that it’s completely unacceptable ... that there’s open drug dealing in different spots in the community of Darndale,” he says. “It isn’t normal, and it shouldn’t be tolerated at any level. I know that gardaí have been doing work on the ground and there have been a number of cases before the courts in recent times, but it seems to be never-ending and it’s just not fair to the community.”[ Dublin City Council outbid in sale of Martello tower in SandymountOpens in new window ]Staunton recalls a recent incident where a horse bucked and fell, injuring his spine. “It was heartbreaking,” she says. She appealed to a local vet for help to euthanise the horse, but had to put up the €300 fee out of her own pocket. Eventually, he did it for €200. “I’d give my last penny to make sure these animals aren’t in pain.” 'It isn’t normal, and it shouldn’t be tolerated at any level.' Photograph: Enda O'Dowd/The Irish Times Along with other locals, she has appealed to Dublin City Council for the use of a nearby field for a stable or temporary structure for the horses. “They keep telling us no, talking about the antisocial behaviour and drug dealing ... but that’s happening anyway. This could be great for the community, for the kids, but they say it might be used for building in a year. Why can’t we use it until then?”Gardaí said they could only comment on specific incidents, and Dublin City Council did not respond to a query on Darndale Park. IN THIS SECTION