Idea of moving Dublin marathon out of city is shameful and embarrassing
IN THE long and undistinguished history of the State’s engagement with sport, the dismal case of the Council, the Transport Authority and the city marathon that may not start or finish in the city centre marks a new low.
Reports that the Dublin marathon may not begin or end in the middle of the capital next year should mortify anyone arguing in favour of such a move.
But it betrays the endemic attitude to sport among the organs of the State – it’s great for the photo opps and the easy headlines, but the business of actually facilitating and supporting sport, at a level that benefits the many and not the few, just feels like too much trouble.
Watch the way officials and politicians will flock to news of a successful bid for the Euros in 2028. Now that’s a story that will end up on Six One, that’s sport worth caring about.
But the marathon, with the disruption to bus services, the inconvenience of road closures, and the fodder it provides for the odd crank, is an altogether different challenge.
It requires painstaking consultation and endless meetings. The level of effort involved – borne almost entirely by the small, dedicated organising committee – is tremendous.
Reports have emerged since the successful running of this year’s edition on the bank holiday weekend that discussions between senior figures in Dublin City Council and the National Transport AuthorThis
‘START AND FINISH ARE THEATRES OF NOISE AND JOY’
ity raised the risible prospect of the crucial parts of next year’s race being moved out of central Dublin.
No expertise in running is required to understand that marathons rely for most of their power on public support. In that regard, Dublin is one of the best in the world. It is not on the scale, in terms of numbers competing or the technical appeal of the course, with the grand events in London, New York, Boston, Chicago, or Berlin.
However, it is loved for the scale of public encouragement, which is a feature of every step along the 26.2 miles of the race route.
In all city marathons, though, the influence of the public is at its most concentrated in the opening and closing stages, which are central, easily accessed by participants, volunteers, and supporters, and which become tremendous theatres of noise and joy on the day.
Yet marathon officials, in correspondence with the Minister for Sport, reportedly told him that Dublin City Council officials asked that ‘the marathon finds a different place to start and finish the event outside Dublin city for 2024’. is owing to the disruption caused to traffic and, seemingly, bus routes in particular.
There is undoubtedly a level of inconvenience, and for several hours on the day of the race, thousands of householders must live with rolling road closures.
This includes your correspondent, who has also had the pleasure of completing the Dublin marathon many times.
Not so this year, but making do with a perch on a packed footpath in Castleknock provided heartening consolation. With two small children in tow, the experience was as life-affirming as always.
The day was rotten, with frequent heavy rain showers. But the crowds only deepened along the course. They were full for the first arrivals at the seven-mile mark, as the elites sped through. But they only got more crowded as family and friends showed up to cheer on runners in pursuit of much more modest goals.
There were no signs of irate neighbours berating selfish runners for closing off the neighbourhood for the morning. And on those precious occasions when running the event, there has never been anything but tremendous support.
Those of us affected by the race route aren’t shocked in the days preceding Halloween every year when signs go up noting that diversions will be in place, and access will be limited – and for no more than a few hours in almost all cases.
And it should be noted that no one is barricaded into their homes. In the event of an emergency, the necessary services can access wherever they need to go.
Similarly, while bus users in the city centre must endure re-routed journeys, the race organisers have contended that this amounts to no more than a few hundred metres.
Thomas Byrne, the Minister for Sport, suggested in a Newstalk interview that the marathon organising team suspect Council officials don’t want it in the city centre. Shame on them if this is true.
The marathon generates millions for the economy, brings thousands of visitors, but it also spreads joy just as the year begins to darken.
Officials should treasure it, not try to destroy it.