Ballymun Scouts

One of the seven towers

Recent trips to Ireland where I stayed in the Travelodge near my old neighbourhood in Ballymun resulted in two reflections. Firstly the needless waste on the Ballymun Public Housing development in North Dublin on the edge of the then city which is being demolished a mere 44 years after the 3,600 unit development was built. The other more positive reflection was on the great optimism and positive influence of the unique Scouting Outreach experiment in the same surroundings, the 64th Dublin Scout Group, conveniently know as Ballymun Scouts.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2010/01/tale-of-two-travelodges.htmll

As youngsters we used to play in the fields where Ballymun is now built and collect conkers from the fine chestnut trees in the grounds of Stormonstown House which covered most of the area. The area was bisected by a country laneway which led to St. Pappin’s Church dating from 1864 and at Santry Cross just beyond it was Ballymun House where we used to go for the annual Horse Show. It was an area with a decided rural character on the edge of the city.







Much to everybody’s amazement the Government from 1965 decided to build a high density housing development using pre-cast concrete construction techniques being abandoned in the rest of Europe. At its centre it had 7 tower blocks with spines of eight and 4 storey precast blocks radiating from the centre and between the arms a combination of traditional housing and open spaces. There were three types of flats: seven fifteen-storey towers; nineteen eight-storey blocks; ten four-storey blocks. The tender was awarded to a consortium called CHS (Cubitt, Haden, Sisk) of two UK contractors and John Sisk an Irish company and a factory was constructed to manufacture the concrete panels.


The early days; L-R; Back. Alan Delahunty, Ben Ivory, Dick Tennant - National Commissioner, John Delahunty - Group Leader, Declan Kelly,
Front; Maura Sloyan, David Sullivan, Hugh Hogan



The flats were built in the 1960s under the authority of Neil Blaney, the then Fianna Fáil Minister for Local Government. They incorporated the best social housing practice of the time. The first tenants moved in between August 1966 and December 1966. By February 1969, when the National Building Agency's contract for Ballymun ceased and control of Ballymun was handed to Dublin City Council, (Dublin County Council didn't want it) there was a total of 3,021 dwellings in the new Ballymun, all of which was social housing under the control of the Irish state through Dublin City Council. A National Building Agency was set up to build the project in 4 years but when it was handed over to Dublin Corporation in 1969 many of the community facilities (Shopping Centre, clinic, schools, swimming pool, library) were not completed.


Fund raising Bring & Buy Sale

This led to the “model development” being serviced by inadequate mobile shops and considerable strains as the residents had to travel outside Ballymun for most services until facilities were built. In addition a big selling point of the spacious and roomy flats was the central heating was included in the rent from the district heating plant. However, this led to other problems as residents couldn’t control their heating individually. So Dublin Corporation had their work cut out taking over a facility which wasn’t finished but they didn’t rise to the challenge either with passive, bureaucratic and distant management of the complex resulting in many downstream problems. However the pre-cast construction was at the root of the flats demise as they developed structural problems due to the phenomenon of “solar walking” where over time the upper panels expand, perish the mastic joints and move due to the heating effect of the sun and the contraction due to night time cooling.


Ballymun Shopping Centre

In time Ballymun and the Seven Towers became a symbol of poverty, drugs, alienation from the state and social problems in Ireland during the 1970s. Today it is undergoing a multi-billion euro renewal, with a renovated village centre, surrounded by estates of houses and apartments, with several sub-districts such as Sillogue and Poppintree. Ballymun had a population of 22,109 at the 2006 Census. The history of the area and of the Ballymun Housing Complex is very well and interestingly documented by Dr. Robert Somerville-Woodward in this work specially commissioned by the Ballymun regeneration project.

http://www.brl.ie/pdf/Ballymun_A_History_1600_1997_Synopsis.pdf

Among the opprobrium heaped on Ballymun, the deployment of the flats has been described by the environmental journalist Frank McDonald, in his book The Construction of Dublin, as the Irish state's 'worst planning disaster'. However, at the time of its construction, Ballymun was a sought after location and prospective tenants had to pass an interview to get housing there. The tenants primarily came from the most deprived areas of inner city Dublin, places where the depth of poverty could not be conceived of in modern Ireland. Many tenants were middle class residents whose property was 'compulsory purchased' by Dublin City Council. They arrived in Ballymun to some of the finest social housing in Europe, having central heating and other rarities of the day in their homes.


Leaders Sile McInerney and Alan Delahunty at Gilwell Park Scoutcentre, Chingford, UK


Venture Scouts dinner

The Ballymun Flats were built in the midst of a housing crisis to accommodate the rising population of Dublin City, Ireland, and particularly former residents of inner-city areas which were being cleared in the process of 1960s 'urban slum clearances'. Whilst suffering from a lack of sufficient public amenities, several schools served the area (Holy Spirit N.S. and Ballymun Comprehensive), as well as an Eastern Health Board medical centre and a purpose built shopping centre. The causes of the social problems in the area, and the subsequent discrimination faced by many people with Ballymun addresses when seeking employment outside the suburb, have been disputed, but Ballymun generally paralleled the experience of many working-class people in the 1960 and 1970s when placed in high-rise locations. Despite the negative perceptions of many non-residents of Ballymun, there existed, and exists today, a strong sense of pride and community in the area, as evidenced by the fact that many former residents of the flats have accepted new social housing in the district.






64th Dublin Cub Scout Pack

However, there was a profound lack of amenities throughout the area - initially the only shop was a van selling at premium prices, for example - and, combined with a lack of trees, and estates built in cul de sacs, ghettoisation developed. The earliest efforts to improve services began in the 1970s with the establishment of tenants' associations, particularly in Sillogue. By the recession of the 1980s, Ballymun was infested with social problems, most especially alcohol and other drug abuse. Although the public image of Ballymun has changed somewhat since the beginning of the Ballymun regeneration project in 1997, continuing social problems in Ballymun ensure it remains a remarkably different world to, for example, neighbouring Glasnevin. There was nothing wrong with the flats internally but the history of Ballymun is a sad indictment of the sclerosis afflicting public service management in Ireland. The complex was never actively managed with no controlled access to the flats, no overall management, no residential caretakers and the effective abandonment of the garage units under the flats which became drug dens and repositories for stolen goods.




Father & Son Camp, Powerscourt

However, contrasted with this institutional neglect and mismanagement of the Ballymun Housing complex by well paid and pensioned bureaucrats there was another more positive story of community groups who were determined to make a difference. In the late 70’s and early 80’s the 64th Dublin Scout Group based in the basement of Eamonn Ceannt Tower in the Ballymun Flats complex in North Dublin was a unique experiment in Scouting Outreach.


64th Dublin Scout Troop in the Den, Eamonn Ceannt Tower

Ballymun Scout was set up by a remarkable character, John Delahunty, an old time Scout Leader who believed with likeminded people that the voluntary and formative nature the Scout Movement could help in building a sense of community in Ballymun. He and the young leaders drew in people from established Scout Groups as well as those with no experience to create a dynamic experiment which served as a template to bring the socialising and educational benefits of this voluntary youth movement to a wider audience. In particular in this tough environment it refused to limit its ambition particularly when it entered the St Patrick’s Day Parade in 1977 and won first prize for voluntary organisations and when it ran the Pioneering Activity at the International Jamboree in 1978 at Woodstock Co. Kilkenny. The “can do” attitude of the many people involved contributed greatly to the Ballymun Community and engendered a strong sense of camaderie amongst all involved which has lasted to the present day.


Beaver Scouts 5/6 year olds

When the founder of the Scout Movement, Baden Powell, wrote his fortnightly boys' magazine, "Scouting for Boys", in 1907, he had it in mind that the activities he suggested would be used to augment the existing programme of the Boy's Brigade, Church Lads, or the small number of youth clubs which were in existence at that time. However, his idea snowballed, with the result that young boys of Scout age set themselves up as patrols of "Baden Powell Scouts".


Group Camp at Giltspur House, Co. Wicklow

Thus it was that Scouting was introduced into the parish of Aughrim Street, for it is well known that a Troop of Baden Powell Scouts existed in Marlborough Barracks (now McKee) before 1910. The Troop consisted of young boys whose fathers were in the Irish Regiments of the British Army in Ireland at that time. Following the Civil War and the Treaty, there was no opportunity for Irish boys to join the Scout movement, because the Scout Association at the time was seen as too closely connected with the old British order.


Venture Scout Camp at Crone Wood, Co. Wicklow

This void was filled, however, when two Dublin curates, Fathers Tom and Ernest Farrell, started the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland (CBSI) in 1927. (In May of 1997, the name of the Association was changed to "Scouting Ireland - CSI" (Catholic Scouts of Ireland), with the Irish version of the name remaining unchanged). It was when Fr. Ernest Farrell was transferred to Aughrim Street Parish in 1937 that the present Unit was founded. The first meeting of the 9th Dublin was in the Catholic Young Men’s Society Hall in Aughrim Street. Fr. Ernest was appointed Chaplain and, due to his close association, the 9th Troop was titled "The Founder's Own". Next to appear on the scene was John Delahunty, who had been with the 19th/36th Phibsboro Knight Errand Clan. Under his leadership the Unit continued to grow, and had to move to bigger premises at Infirmary Road. These premises consisted of a studio-type, glass-roofed building, complete with pigeon loft!


Gerard Cowan leading a sing-song in the Den


Conor Maguire and David Caldwell on the St. Patrick's Day Parade float

So John Delahunty was scouting royalty and highly respected having taken over and expanded the founding scout group of one of the two main Scout Associations in Ireland. However when it came to setting up a group for young people in the Ballymun Housing Complex he wanted it open to all and the group was set up under the aegis of the Scout Association of Ireland. Originally known as the “Baden Powell’s” for its association with the old regime it was a remarkable gesture for somebody of John Delahunty’s standing to effectively turn his back on the tradition he had worked in and decide that in the interests of inclusion scouting in Ballymun must be on a non-denominational basis. In this as in other ways John was something of a pioneer as the associations in Ireland have since merged and are open to all. Indeed when Ballymun Scouts entered the 1977 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin and took on the project they emphasised the role of Scouting in bringing young people of different backgrounds together and deepening mutual understanding. There ambitious entry was completed like much else, on a wing and a prayer and with much help from friends. It included somewhat alarmingly (with Health and Safety hindsight!) a fairground style wheel constructed with timber pioneering poles and ropes and an aerial runway on a moving float as well as a futuristic “Starpeace” float. The entry won the prize for the best voluntary float in the Parade, a notable achievement for any group let alone a fledgling Scout Group with hardly any resources from Ballymun.




Woodstock '78

Similarly for the International Jamboree at Woodstock in Co. Kilkenny the Group took on the Pioneering Field which gave participants the chance to practice teamwork and initiative and learn new techniques in constructing structures from timber poles and rope. It was one of the more successful activities at the Jamboree gaining a commendation. It was signposted by a dramatic gateway and the “Woodworkers” from Ballymun constructed futuristic raised sleeping platforms which they camped in. In this and many other ways such as entering competitive expeditions and the Levy Trophy the group didn’t behave as if it was “deprived” but insisted on holding its own with more established groups from better off areas.


Sleeping platform @ the Pioneering Field, Woodstock'78


Dolores and Veronica at Woodstock'78


Commendation for the Pioneering Activity at Woodstock 1978

This of course didn’t happen by accident but was due to the dedication of the enthusiastic young leaders it attracted which resulted in the group establishing not just a Scout Troop for 11 -16 year olds but Cub Scouts for 7 – 11 year olds, a highly successful mixed Venture Scout Unit and last but not least Beaver Scouts for the 5/6 year olds. As well as its own leaders others from surrounding Groups helped out through a combination of wanting to bring Scouting to Ballymun and personal friendships and material help was given by Groups such as 5th Port Dollymount and 1st Dublin.


Hiking in Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow; Francis Caulfield, David Caldwell, Gerard Cowan, Síle Mc Inerney, Ann Paisley, Gay Spencer

Dublin Corporation helped by giving the Group the basement of Eamonn Ceannt Tower, one of the Seven Towers and their maintenance crews generously renovated it and installed a new kitchen as they were glad to see the space used well for community purposes. A sub-committee of the Vocational Education Committee also supported with grants for activities and camping equipment. The Scout Association itself and its National Commissioner, Dick Tennant, was enthusiastic in supporting this Scouting Outreach and it was used as a model for other areas.


Hugh Hogan showing the President of Ireland, Dr. Patrick Hillery, around Woodstock '78

Parents in the area were fiercely supportive and the hardy women who comprised the Parent’s Committee ran weekly Bingo sessions and other events to support the activities. In this Ballymun Scouts was different often changing how things were done. For instance they didn’t wear the expensive and largely ceremonial berets as part of the scout uniform but had warm woolly hats in the Group colours of Black and Red knitted and issued as more suitable for outdoor activities. The cost of events and camps were kept low to increase participation and nobody was deprived of joining in on grounds of cost. Indeed being part of Ballymun Scouts gave an insight into how hard people in Ballymun wanted to help themselves and how resilient they had to be in the face of often indifferent officialdom and ant-social behaviour. I was particularly struck by one mother telling me of when their daughter was bringing home a boyfriend to meet the family she had to go out every 30 minutes or so to mop out and disinfect the lift.


Hugh briefing Woodworkers at Woodstock'78

Ballymun and its Seven Towers as well as startling visitors to Ireland flying into nearby Dublin Airport expecting to see thatched cottages and not pre-cast concrete towers also entered popular iconography in Ireland. The line "I see seven towers, but I only see one way out" from U2's 1987 song "Running to Stand Still" (on The Joshua Tree album) refers to these towers. They were also featured in “The Commitments” where the question “Why are you bringing the horse in the lift” gained the reply “Jaysus, it does be knackered going up the stairs!” Ballymun flats feature in M.J. Hyland's Booker-short listed novel Carry Me Down (2006), symbolising John's family's descent into poverty.


Gerard Cowan (Bouncer) and Sile McInerney @ Woodstock'78 work party

The creation of Ballymun Regeneration Limited as a limited company controlled by Dublin City Council initiated the beginning of the demolition of the Ballymun flats and the emergence of a "new town" of Ballymun. The new housing is a mixture of public, private, voluntary and co-operative housing. The "new Ballymun" is due to be completed by 2013.The regeneration project, despite well-publicised questions about accountability and democratic participation, has also delivered many other amenities, including reworked park areas, a major City Council office facility, Health Service facilities, a public leisure centre, student accommodation, a new hotel and renewed shopping areas. However given Ireland’s current economic travails and the IMF Bailout it is likely that the area will be left in something of a never-neverland with the ambitious scheme for regeneration not completed as intended. Already the much needed redevelopment of Ballymun Shopping and the station on the Metro North line to Dublin Airport look like early casualties, in the latter case because the line won’t be built.




Starpeace @ St Patrick's Day Parade, 1977

As part of the New Ballymun, a major tree-planting project called Amaptocare has been run, with more than 600 people sponsoring around 700 trees, and providing inscription texts which are engraved on plaques near the trees. All of the trees will be identified on a glass panel at Ballymun's central plaza, which was scheduled to be complete by 2007 but is not due by 2013.

As for 64th Dublin Ballymun Scouts they gently faded out in the 90’s as demographics and Ballymun changed and as many of the original leaders moved on. But it left a considerable impact on the many people who were involved. Friendships from that time have endured and many are still involved in Scouting and other community organisations. Always demanding the best from each scout he instilled values of doing their best and achieving their potential. Like John Delahunty those who continued his work with Ballymun Scouts strongly believed that scouting had something for everyone and you were defined not by where you came from but where you wanted to be. It was a unique exercise in Scouting Outreach which with other community based initiatives showed the positive spirit of Ballymun and laid the foundation for its regeneration.

See also;

Conor Maguire;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/11/conor-maguire.html

Gerard Cowan;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/02/gerard-cowan.html


Farewell to the Ballymun flats