BARRIERS BLOCKING DUBLIN city’s Castle Street, where Dublin Castle is located, have come down for the rest of the summer.

The barriers were first erected three streets surrounding the castle, including Castle Street, on 23 June in preparation for the kick-off of Ireland’s six-month EU presidency. It is understood the now-removed barriers will be reinstated at the end of August when events pick up at the castle.

Businesses and residents on the street were deeply disappointed with the barricading of the street.

The barriers were manned by gardaí, and those who wished to come and go had to show ID to the gardaí, have their bags searched, and explain their reason for being there.

Earlier this month, Castle Street business owners told The Journal the street closure was severely impacting their businesses.

But to their surprise, on Saturday morning the barriers were neatly stacked against Newcomen Bank at the junction of Cork Hill, Lord Edward Street and Castle Street.

Castle Street, Ship Street Little and Ship Street Great are three streets that have been closed as a result of the presidency at Dublin Castle. The Journal The Journal

“As we were not told they were going up, we weren’t told they were coming down,” Elaine McArdle, the owner of Italian restaurant Bottega Toffoli on the street, told The Journal this afternoon.

McArdle was in the middle of setting up for the evening service after a busy night on Tuesday. On Castle Street, tourists roamed, and groups gathered to look through the gates of the castle.

She and her husband Carlo have been running the restaurant for 22 years, and they receive a lot of business from tourists roaming through the busy area, as well as locals who have regular reservations.

“Once the barriers came up, we were so busy,” McArdle said. “I’m not going to complain because we need to take everything we can get, and sleep for a week – because come September, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

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A 'road closed' sign at Castle Street.

Today, McArdle said she’s glad they understand they have until the end of August to operate without the road closed, but remains concerned about what’s going to happen when the place comes under greater security measures once again.

“We need September [for business] as well, especially if we get that Indian summer. Then October things can start to dip, and definitely business goes down in the winter months.

“So having the road closed right up until New Year’s Eve – I really don’t know how it’s going to go.”

There are a number of elderly residents on the road, she continued, and the scale of the garda presence and closures can be “off-putting” for them”.

“It’s extremely over the top. There’s no need to have that end of the street barricaded.”

The Office of Public Works (OPW) and An Garda Síochána have been contacted for information on the timelines of the opening and closure of the street.