Waiting up to four years for a sports pitch in Dublin 8 risks a ‘whole generation of lost kids’, a community group has warned. 

The inner city area on Dublin’s southside has long been an oasis of concrete with little in the way of green spaces.

It means children who want to play sport have to travel to access pitches and many fear some are missing out because of the hassle involved.

Two sites have been identified by local campaigners as possible locations for green areas and earlier this week, Dublin City Council indicated the one in Marrowbone Lane was suitable.

Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show, Sporting Liberties Chairperson JJ O'Mahony described it as a “significant milestone” in their campaign.

In a letter to the group, the CEO of Dublin City Council said a consultant for the project would be hired within the next month.

However, he caveated that delivery was dependent on “the Uisce Éireann depot will be located elsewhere by the end of 2026”.

“If Uisce Éireann are relocated at the end of 2026, the pitch has to be delivered and developed in 2027,” Mr O'Mahony said.

“It could be 2028 [by the time it’s complete] and I suppose the children of the area don’t have the luxury of that time.

“There will almost be a whole generation of kids lost over the four to five years."

Main image shows footballs on a pitch. Image: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Mr O’Mahony said the lack of a sports pitch is having a “massive impact” on the lives of local children and that they “don’t have time” to wait another four years for the project to be completed.

The group has been in contact with Minister for Sport Thomas Byrne and he advised them to be as proactive as possible.

“Minister Byrne… referenced a number of examples where local communities moved in, took a lot more responsibility for the delivery of these projects, took ownership of the delivery of these projects and sped up the delivery of these projects,” he said.

“We’d love to work with the Minister’s Department to see how this can be done.”

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Main image: Children playing football.