An interesting report prepared by an independent safety expert on behalf of Dublin City Council regarding safety issues at the horse fair at Smithfield.
This was finalised in May 2009, more than a year before the events of early March where a number of people ended up hospitalised following shootings and a near-riot.
A lot of people have differing views on Smithfield and the horse fair, whether it is part of Dublin history or whether it is a serious accident just waiting to happen.
The author of this report is pretty clear in his findings and says the chances of multiple fatalities occurring at the horse fair are “probable”.
On a side note, Dublin City Council released this report outside of Freedom of Information legislation simply because I asked for it: a very welcome development and one I hope others will follow.
Dublin City Council are one of the most co-operative public bodies in Ireland when it comes to transparency, and take their responsibilities seriously in releasing data.
