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The Grow Dome Project via Facebook

Community garden turns derelict Fatima Mansions site green

The garden will be launched next week.

A COMMUNITY GARDEN in the capital has seen locals and Dublin City Council turning a derelict space into a vibrant green area.

Flanagan’s Field Community Garden is located on Reuben St in Fatima, Dublin 8, on the site of the old Fatima Mansions housing and has been running for a number of years.

It will get its official launch on 20 September, along with the unveiling of Dublin’s first geodesic grow dome there.

A grow dome is an “intensive all-year-round sustainable food growing tool” , which will be used as a community meeting and education area, an arts and music exhibition space “and an iconic artwork in its own right”, say the grow dome team.

Derelict to green

The site was previously derelict, having initially been earmarked for housing that was not completed due to the recession.

The local Back of the Pipes Residents’ Association saw the potential of the site, and in how it could link people around the community.

They began the process in 2011, and soon Dublin City Council was on board, allowing them to develop the area with them.

“They were brilliant,” said Dougal Hazel, one of the garden’s volunteers. “They gave us a lot of ideas about what to do when it came to conserving water and they were able to provide a bit of funding and some soil to get us going.”

They created beds for the garden, inspired in its design by a 1756 map of the area.  They also landscaped rubble into features.

The project was so successful that DCC gave them more space at the side of the garden that could be used, which opened the project up “to bigger possibilities”, said Hazel.

This led to homework groups and community groups setting up initiatives, and it also led to a grow dome being created.

[image alt="10371616_1465939310333239_2259870027182267953_n" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2014/09/10371616_1465939310333239_2259870027182267953_n-630x215.jpg" width="630" height="215" title="" class="alignnone" /end]

The geodesic dome is 90% finished and the locals are hugely excited by what it will add to Flanagan’s Fields.

It’s planned that youth groups, afterschool clubs and gardeners will be among the groups able to use the dome. Inside the dome, there is tiered bedding based on a paddyfield system that uses water harvesting.

The grow dome will use harvested rainwater and an off-grid hydroponic technique to produce well over 1,000 lettuces per week, every week, all year round.

It is planned that it will work with community centres and local business to distribute produce to the needy, and any donations generated will support regular dome festivities.

Bonding the community

A huge amount of local people and groups are involved in the garden, as well as DCC, and it’s enabling 20 gardeners to have their own allotment space in the city.

“It’s very exciting – we’re cutting our teeth on it as well, ” said Hazel. It has been a real learning experience for everyone involved.

He said that it has also bonded members of the community who might not normally have had much in common.

It has upped people’s enjoyment of the area. It’s everybody that has created it – it’s a trickle effect.

The garden recently won three awards in the South Central Area Neighbourhoods District Awards, and will be taking part in another two awards ceremonies soon.

Flanagan’s Field and the Grow Dome Project in Fatima Mansions will be unveiled by Lord Mayor on 20 September with an event running from 2pm – 6pm.

Read: Pop-up community festival brings organic food to Dublin city today>

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12 Comments
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    Mute Ronan Stokes
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    Jun 28th 2014, 7:59 AM

    Have a great day all!!

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    Mute Lang
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:18 AM

    Hope everyone has a fan-bloody-tastic day!!

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    Mute Noble Gas
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:00 AM

    I am the only gay in the….no wait. Have fun everyone!

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    Mute Joanne Champ
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:28 AM

    Have a fantastic day everybody xxx

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    Mute Mike Clinton
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:23 AM

    Happy Pride day folks. This is your day and I hope you enjoy it.

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    Mute Fognostical
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:25 AM

    Enjoy yourselves :-) , as the late Larry Grayson always said “What a gay day!”

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    Mute Maria Dardis
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:43 AM

    Good stuff, fair play to all of you! Have a gteat day. M.

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    Mute kingstown
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:22 AM

    Bet David Quinn and Breda O’Brien will be seething in their pews waiting to scribble down their anti-gay hatred or as they call it -their sincerely held beliefs’

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    Mute John Deegan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:29 AM

    It’s your day today. Shouldn’t you be happy? I suspect you’re not.

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    Mute Noble Gas
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:31 AM

    It’s all a misunderstanding. They think gay people are a great bunch of lads , but only an invisible man told them that gays were against the natural order of things and shouldn’t have the same rights as straight people. No offence intended – it’s the invisible mans fault really.

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    Mute Danny Rigg
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    Jun 28th 2014, 7:52 AM

    I’m already on the train to Dublin. I hate crowds

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    Mute Mad Taoiseach
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:01 AM

    Let them March. What harm can be done?

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    Mute Samuel Ista
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:18 PM

    This parade is unsuitable for a city centre in daytime due to the outfits that many of the participants wear. Grown men in leather thongs should not be allowed in public. Personally I find it stomach turning.

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:39 AM

    Anyone know the best spot to watch the parade? I’m dying my hair bright pink in honour of the day that’s in it :)

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    Mute Ailbhe O'Nolan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:26 AM

    Woah Jane, nice! Good on ya

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:45 AM

    Any excuse really, Ailbhe. It was blue and green last week ;)

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    Mute George Hogan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:58 PM

    @jane
    Bet you’ll look stunning Jane! Happy Pride all. Looking forward to a great day. Get involved people – share the love!
    @ Ailbhe – have a great day, even if you can’t make Pride this year! Great news about your grandparents. Older people are great and can really surprise sometimes!

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 2:22 PM

    George, what a lovely positive thing to say! I’m not sure you belong on the Journal ;)

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:26 AM

    How many letters are they going to end up with??

    27
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    Mute significantrisk
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:48 AM

    As many as it takes until “people” includes everyone equally.

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:07 AM

    Maybe just call themselves people then. No need to differentiate from anybody any other way inclined?

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:58 PM

    Anybody else find it unusual that the parade got routed across Butt Bridge?

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    Mute George Hogan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 1:12 PM

    Eh, no!

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    Mute Joe The Man
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:09 AM

    Looks like fun!!

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    Mute Stevie J
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:39 AM

    What does the Q stand for in LGBTQ?

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    Mute roryboyle
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:55 AM

    Queer, men that sleep with men but do not consider themselves gay.

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    Mute Patrick Varley
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:00 AM
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    Mute Patrick Varley
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:02 AM

    It stands for “questioning” surely…

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    Mute Patrick Varley
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:05 AM
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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:38 AM

    It’s “questioning” not queer.

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    Mute Stevie J
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:08 PM

    Cheers

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:56 AM

    Enjoy the party, because probably in less than 50 years you probably wont be able to have one at all. As radical Islam occupies much of Europe their tolerances of ANYTHING different (cartoons) gets met with a bullet at the back of the head. (lets face it how many pride festivals are there in Saudi for example) Even now we see “women” and children (not men mind you! ) in Ireland covered from head to toe in black and people hardy bat an eyelid. LGBTQ people fought long and hard for the freedoms you have, well enjoy them while you can!!

    Of course that could NEVER happen in Ireland????

    Well add a little section of the parade to pass by the Mosque in Clonskea and see the reaction.

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    Mute Michael Fallon
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:14 PM

    Down with this type of thing

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    Mute Sheldon Sheridan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 2:36 PM

    40,000 in Dublin? PinkNews is saying there’s 20,000 at London’s Pride today. If the figures are correct, I’m thrilled.

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    Mute Mad Taoiseach
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    Jun 28th 2014, 7:19 PM

    12,488 showed up.

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    Mute Samuel Ista
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:15 PM

    This parade is unsuitable for a city centre in daytime due to pretty nasty and very sexual outfits that many of the males wear. Men in leather thongs or hotpants, it’s disgusting and perverted and doesn’t encourage respect from straight folk like me. These adult men and women obviously have a twisted sense of their place in society and relish the opportunity to parade their perversion. I guess the vast majority of mature, intelligent, and self respecting gay people stay home today and are very embarrassed by the freaks who claim to represent their sexuality.

    1
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