Councillors back plan to redevelop and upgrade pitch at Portland Row

Now that the pitch is safe, Cllr Janice Boylan is calling on the council to provide a redeveloped pitch that can serve the community both now and into the future

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 13:58, 18 Sep 2026 Updated 13:59, 18 Sep 2026 View Image Sinn Féin Leader Mary Lou McDonald and Councillor Janice Boylan celebrate An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision on the Portland Row pitch in a social media video

Pressure is on Dublin City Council to redevelop and upgrade the pitch at Portland Row sooner rather than later.

Sinn Féin Councillor Janice Boylan rejoiced in July when a campaign to retain the Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA) known locally as ‘The Strand’ was successful. Plans to remove the pitch to make way for a housing development were rejected by An Coimisiún Pleanála as going against the council’s own development plan to retain community facilities.

Plans to build 49 housing units at the well-loved pitch saw major pushback from the local community, representatives, and sports stars like Troy Parrott and Kellie Harrington . Dublin City Council had approved the development last December, but a public appeal refused to quieten, and it was ultimately rejected.

Now that the pitch is safe, Cllr Boylan is calling on the council to provide a redeveloped pitch that can serve the community both now and into the future. She said housing development is still needed in the area, but that this should not come at the expense of the limited sports facilities in the North Inner City.

Cllr Boylan’s motion was submitted to the Central Area Committee and called for pitch to be upgraded “to the highest specifications”. The manager’s response was that the council will continue to work with Tuath Housing in relation to their Portland Row development and that they hope to come back with new designs before the end of the year.

The council stated they do not have plans for any works on the pitch “in the immediate term,” but cited a capital budget of €1.5 million for upgrading playgrounds and MUGAs across the city as a potential funding source. They will be investigating options for redevelopment and coming back to representatives with proposals at a later date.

Green Party Cllr Janet Horner said the rejected plans have significantly delayed housing delivery for the area and that it has come as "significant blow to our commitment to deliver family homes”. She called for the council to prioritise putting a plan in place for housing at Portland Row to “make up the difference” caused by the delay

Independent Cllr Malachy Steenson bemoaned the lack of an alternative plan already being put in place and said “surely it was predictable” that it could be rejected. He was frustrated by lack of a back-up plan and said the use of Approved Housing Bodies rather than delivering sites directly often leaves them “back at square one”.

An alternative plan should have been considered, according to Cllr Boylan, who said there was a significant number of public submissions made for the retention of the pitch. “If we’re serious about homes, we should be serious about amenities for the area,” she said.

Independent Cllr Nial Ring called for the pitch before any housing plans for Portland Row progress. He said “putting it on the long finger is not an option” and that a feasibility study should be carried out “now”. Similarly, Cllr Christy Burke said there is a need to redevelopment the site for the area's youth and pairing the projects will “take another three or four years in an area crying out for housing”.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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