Mud Island Community Garden
Dublin, Ireland · Operator: Mud Island Community Garden (volunteer-led residents' group)
Overview
A collective garden in inner-city Dublin bearing the name of the old 'Mud Island' area mentioned in James Joyce's Ulysses. Residents transformed a derelict site that had cost the city thousands to clear each year into a green community hub, notable for fully collective cultivation with shared harvests. It has won multiple awards as a leading Dublin community garden.
Citizen participation
A volunteer-run garden created after a two-year campaign by residents of Dublin's North East Inner City, who obtained a licence from Dublin City Council in October 2011 for a derelict site plagued by illegal dumping. Membership is open to anyone in the area; the garden is farmed collectively without individual plots and the produce is shared. It has an explicit social-inclusion policy and hosts local events and learning.
Operating model
Non-profit, run by volunteers with membership fees and small grants, operating under an annually renewed licence from Dublin City Council. Produce is shared among members and the community rather than sold.
Impact
Regenerating a dumping ground improved the local environment; the garden has repeatedly won neighbourhood awards such as Best Community Garden and was nominated by Dublin City Council for the national Pride of Place awards in 2017, becoming a model for reusing derelict inner-city land.
Land tenure
Uses Dublin City Council land under a licence granted in October 2011, renewed annually.
Crops
- vegetables
- fruit
- herbs
- flowers
Scale
Former derelict, illegally dumped site at Newcomen Court, North Strand (Dublin 3), now with raised vegetable beds, fruit bushes and trees, a polytunnel, sheds and a flower garden
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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