New LED billboards in Dublin have been described as “unbearable” and are lighting up homes “like a disco”, one woman has said. 

Whereas the billboards were previously paper, now they are electronic and extremely bright - something that has hugely irritated local residents.

“We live on a terrace of houses that is perpendicular to the massive six metre by six metre electronic billboard that’s flashing a different ad with a different colour every 10 seconds right into our house,” Diana O’Dwyer explained to The Hard Shoulder. 

“It’s lighting up the front of our house like a disco. It’s totally unbearable since they turned it on on Saturday.” 

She added: 

“You know those massive screens they have in Times Square? Or a big screen that they’d have on at a rock concert? 

“It’s like that and it’s just a stone’s throw from my kids’ bedroom window when I’m trying to put them to sleep at night.” 

The family has lived in the area for four years and was caught off guard when the billboards were turned on over the weekend: 

“We didn’t realise until they turned it on on Saturday that this was happening because when they put the billboard up we were actually away on our summer holiday. 

“So literally the first we knew of it was on Saturday night when they turned it on.” 

She has complained to her local councillor and is looking into getting blackout blinds installed. 

Ultimately, however, she wants the billboard taken down and the neighbourhood back to the way it was. 

“Obviously nobody would ever agree to this,” she concluded. 

“They should be banned full stop.”

Main image: An LED billboard in Rathmines. Picture by: Rory O'Farrell.