Services: Excavation, ground formation, surfacing, fencing, benches, temporary works, landscaping, full project management.
Project Overview
For years, the green at MacUilliam estate was exactly that – grass and nothing else. No focal point, no safe place for young people to gather, and an open invitation for anti-social behaviour to creep in. The council wanted an amenity that would lift the area rather than create future maintenance problems.
A durable, low-upkeep MUGA offered the best answer: a space that encourages activity, gives structure to the landscape, and delivers visible community value without becoming a liability for local services.
This wasn’t a cosmetic upgrade. It was a chance to turn a blank patch of land into something with purpose.
Our Solution
Working with South Dublin County Council, the Housing & Community team, Active South Dublin, local residents’ groups and Connect 4 youth service, we delivered a 30 metre by 15 metre multi-use games area designed for five-a-side football and full basketball play.
The entire installation was managed and built by Irish Fencing:
- Temporary fencing for site control and safety requirements as PSCS
- Programme and project management from possession to handover
- Excavation and ground formation
- All surfacing works including kerbing, tarmac surface and linemarking
- Full perimeter fencing and access gates for public use and maintenance access gate.
- Installation of two timber spectator benches
Every element – from the first dig to the final panel – was delivered in a two-week construction window.
“We did the surface. We did the excavation… we did everything with it.” – Eoin Ennis, Contracts Manager
The brief was straightforward: build something robust, safe, and low-maintenance; something that reflects how people actually use shared neighbourhood spaces. The final design is deliberately simple, deliberately tough, and deliberately open. A place for football, basketball, hanging out, and being active – all without ongoing headaches for the council.
Outcome & Impact
The transformation was immediate.
An empty field is now a genuinely used community space – alive from morning to evening, full of movement, noise, and purpose. The phrase that kept coming up on site says it best:
“There was nothing there on that green… and now it’s been used by everyone.” – Terry Hobdell, Chairman
For local residents, the MUGA has become a safer social hub. Teenagers have somewhere structured to be. Younger children have a place to play. Families have a reason to walk across the green rather than around it.
For the council, the impact is practical as well as social. The amenity reduces pressure on adjacent residential blocks – they don’t need to build indoor gyms because the park now provides that function in a simpler, more open form.
“It improves the quality of life all around.” – Eoin Ennis, Contracts Manager
A modest project in footprint, but a meaningful shift in how the neighbourhood feels and works.
‘’Great to see the Multi-Use Games Area in MacUilliam estate officially opened by Mayor Cllr Pamela Kearns. This project was made possible through collaboration between SDCC’s Active South Dublin team, Housing and Community Department, local residents’ associations, and the Connect 4 street-based youth service, which supports young people in West Tallaght through direct community outreach.
The new MUGA and seating area provide a safe, welcoming place for children and teenagers to play, exercise, and spend time together.’’ – Brendan Redmond, Senior Executive Parks and Landscape Officer at South Dublin County Council
Products Used
Kinsale 868 Sportsmesh 2400mm high at goal Ends and 1200mm high to pitch sides in Spectator Rail configuration including one pedestrian access gate and one double leaf gate for maintenance access.
Two number combined Goal for various games including 5 a side soccer, and Basketball hoops
We collaborated with Spraoi Linn Ltd of County Wexford in the installation Drifter Benches
The Excavation and laying of the surface inside and around the MUGA were part of our package of works
