Residents near the Tallaght Bypass prevent Travellers from moving onto greenspaces.
The Old Bawn Traveller camp of about 30 caravans on the Tallaght Bypass became a flashpoint when Dublin County Council officials opened the road. The caravans were moved to the side of the road to make way for traffic. Attempts by Travellers to block the road again were thwarted by An Garda Síochána.
The Traveller families are in an uncompromising mood. Despite guarantees that motorists using the newly opened road will drive at 10 miles per hour, this speed limit is being greatly exceeded. Worried for the safety of their children, the Travellers have taken to throwing stones at the passing cars to force them to slow down,
We'll stay here until we get a place to move, to go to.
Meanwhile, resident groups in a 7 to 8-mile radius around Tallaght have stepped up a campaign of barricading off their housing estates. They are mounting a 24-hour watch to exclude any Traveller families from moving into their area.
Richie O'Reilly from Springmount explains the residents are determined to keep the Travellers from moving onto their greenspaces. The 24 hour watch is not anti-Traveller. The residents are taking matters into their own hands because,
Dublin Corporation, Dublin County Council, and our elected representatives in Dáil Éireann who for the last 12 years have just palmed us off week after week, year after year, promises, promises, promises, and have done nothing.
At the entrance to Kilnamanagh estate residents are determined to stand, or lie down, in front of any Traveller vehicles that try to enter. As a last ditch attempt to stop the Travellers, one resident has put together planks of wood with nails sticking out of them. He stresses these are not weapons but will be placed on the road to cause damage to vehicle tyres.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 June 1984. The reporter is Charlie Bird.
