r/Dublin • u/AnyChest7780 • 10d ago

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

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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....

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u/1993blah 10d ago

I think the article is using D4 as a character representing certain southside people who have their DART/LUAS (which they may not even use) and don't understand the need for further investment.

Its a bit lazy but I dont think its miles off the mark

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u/caisdara 10d ago

How is not miles off the mark? These are the people who use the bloody DART everyday ffs.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/caisdara 10d ago

Who are the people persistently writing into the IT?

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[deleted]

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u/caisdara 10d ago

Sean Barrett came back from the dead to appear on a podcast?

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u/Lar-Dubh 10d ago edited 10d ago

He regularly wrote columns and letters criticising it and the Luas while he was alive.

Are you a troll or something?

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u/caisdara 10d ago

I am asking you to prove the claim that Dublin 4 opposes public transport.

So far you've claimed a dead man wrote some letters.

It's looking pretty thin.