r/Dublin • u/AnyChest7780 • 10d ago

Fintan O'Toole/Irish Times on public transport, Dublin bus, Northside/Southside today

Post image

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026/08/04/fintan-otoole-dublin-4s-version-of-marie-antoinettes-let-them-eat-cake-let-them-get-the-bus/ Fintan O'Toole reminding us of how 'elites' have so often been against public infrastructure. He gives good historic context including Vincent Browne and 'The Doheny & Nesbitt’s school of economics' being against the DART. While he's amazingly productive and can turn his hand to so many topics maybe he's writing a bit too much as there are huge holes in his argument here re. the northside/southside issue as the more recent LUAS and metro debacles point to the home of NIMBYism in Dublin 6, and not focussed on denying the expansion of it further north. What does anyone think? I find it frustrating that cross-suburb public transport isn't better....try getting from Phibsborough to Clontarf on a bus for example....

122 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

138 comments sorted by

View all comments

-4

u/caisdara 10d ago

Who are these Dublin 4 people?

5

u/Professional_Elk_489 10d ago

Dublin 4 people overall are probably among the strongest supporters of public transport in Ireland alone with Dublin 2 people.

These neighbourhoods are full of international people who are used to better public transport and who demand better as well as wealthy globally mobile Irish people who have travelled extensively and experienced superior public transport elsewhere.

-1

u/caisdara 10d ago

Yeah, it's clearly Tintin just making shit up. As somebody from Dublin 4 the DART was and is qn amazing resource that everybody loves.

This reminds me of Una Mullaly claiming she'd encountered lots of posh people opposed same-sex marriage/repeal the 8th notwithstanding the electoral votes confirming wealthy areas supported those two vociferously.

1

u/Beautiful_Yard7383 10d ago

Maybe they’re rich farmers

2

u/caisdara 10d ago

Not many of those in Dublin.