EVENTS AT MALAHIDE CASTLE
November 21st/22nd
The following press release has just been received from Senan Turnbull, Director of Services of the Parks Department with regard to the disgraceful events that took place in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Fingal County Council was approached 4 weeks ago by a group of artists requesting permission to hold a multi-disciplinary event limited to 300 people on the night of November 21st/22nd involving the use of the west lawn of Malahide Castle.
Following discussions with the group it was agreed that the event could go ahead and the use of the grounds would be provided on the clear understanding that it would have no negative impact outside of its immediate surroundings close to the castle itself. In requiring this commitment from this and any group requesting the use of the castle, the Council is conscious of the potential impact on castle grounds and possible disturbance to the local community.
Fingal County Council made clear to the group when agreeing to make the venue available for last Saturday night, that the event should have no negative impact on the surrounding community. The group specifically committed to minimisation of any disturbance from the event as a principle and from our discussions we were satisfied that they intended to meet this commitment.
Council staff attended Saturday night’s event until approximately 10.30pm and we also had a security guard present throughout the event. Staff that attended understood that the event would be low key for the remainder of the evening and would have no negative impact on the surrounding area. Regrettably it is very clear from emails and phone calls to the Council on Sunday and Monday that local residents experienced unacceptable noise intrusion into their homes from the event taking place at Malahide and this is something we deeply regret.
We sincerely and unreservedly apologise for the disturbance to residents from this event as it was never our understanding that the event would cause such a nuisance. We have already refused a proposal to hold a dance music event in 2010 because we felt that the nature of the music would impact on residents in an un-acceptable way. Formal licences are only required for events over 5,000 people and the decision to grant permission for this event was taken by the Council staff with no involvement by Councillors.
We understand and accept the legitimate complaints from residents in the area that Saturdays nights event caused an unacceptable local nuisance. We regret the outcome and negative impact on our neighbours and can assure you that no event like this will be allowed to take place at the castle again.
Senan Turnbull, Director of Services -Community Recreation, Amenities Dept.