Foley Street, Dublin 1

adlerhn

Hi,

I am considering renting an apartment in Foley Street, D1. I know, everybody says that D1 is bad. But there are of course better and worse areas.

Is Foley Street considered unsafe? I have seen some posts from 2009 saying so, but 6 years are a long way. Is it still considered unsafe? If so, how unsafe is it? Sheriff Street or Summerhill unsafe?

I'd love to see crime statistics per area/street, if that information is available anywhere.

usernamegoes

adlerhn wrote: »

Hi,

I am considering renting an apartment in Foley Street, D1. I know, everybody says that D1 is bad. But there are of course better and worse areas.

Is Foley Street considered unsafe? I have seen some posts from 2009 saying so, but 6 years are a long way. Is it still considered unsafe? If so, how unsafe is it? Sheriff Street or Summerhill unsafe?

I'd love to see crime statistics per area/street, if that information is available anywhere.

I was mugged, beaten up by two lads and a girl on Foley St about 5 years ago. All the apartments on and around Foley St are like fortresses for a reason.

Turtle_

When people say there are worse places... The worse places they're thinking of are the likes of Foley Street...

LilyShame

I lived very near there (1-bed apt around the corner) and walked home from my job every evening from 2006-2012 and never once had a problem. But maybe I was just lucky...

johnnyskeleton

It's a place steeped in history. It used to be called Montgomery Street or "Monto" and was one of the largest red light districts in Europe.

It isn't the worst part of the city centre but you are close to Sean MacDermott Street and the whole area around it is a bit shabby. As with everything if you get somewhere for a good price it may be worth it, but on the other hand the lower price reflects the lack of demand for it!

myshirt

Mate lived in The Steelworks for 3 years, no problems. All depends how you handle yourself also.

foggy_lad

myshirt wrote: »

Mate lived in The Steelworks for 3 years, no problems. All depends how you handle yourself also.

You shouldn't have to "handle! yourself to be able to live in certain areas.

Explosive_Cornflake

I lived in the steelworks also.
It's certinaly got character.
If it were me I wouldn't go back, once was enough.

cson

I'd be familiar with it, bit of a kip but the Steelworks seem like nice enough apartments. You're smack bang in the middle of town though & have the DART and Red Line Luas literally 5 mins walk away so that's something to take into consideration.

It's a rough area no doubt, but will you get into bother? Same with anywhere if you're sensible you should be fine. Though on the balance of probabilities you'd have to say there's a higher chance of something happening in that area than say Clontarf 5 miles out the road.

Turtle_

myshirt wrote: »

Mate lived in The Steelworks for 3 years, no problems. All depends how you handle yourself also.

Friends of mine parked there and got out of the car. No sooner than they had locked it than two gardai pulled up beside them to tell them they needed to get back in the car and drive away. Seemingly a couple of very predatory scumbags had been watching them and the gardai reckoned there was enough of a threat to them to tell them to get the hell away from there.

Handle yourself my eye.. The area is about as dangerous and unsavoury as areas in the city centre get.

Bob24

adlerhn wrote: »

I am considering renting an apartment in Foley Street, D1. I know, everybody says that D1 is bad. But there are of course better and worse areas.

I'd have to agree with some other posters in saying Foley Street is one of those worse areas.

You probably noticed that compared to other places which are just a stone's throw away (pun intended) the rent is cheaper for the same type of property ... there is a reason for that.

Friends of mine were going to buy an apartment there and on the way to meet their surveyor there they walked past a guy who was breaking into a car in from of them, when he saw they were looking at him he kept going and made it clear it was his territory and not theirs. They asked the Garda station about the place and were politely told to think twice before buying (Gardee said they are called for incidents on that specific street every single day).

I myself cross it once in a while as it is on the shortest path between to locations I go to for work. I have also seen a few dodgy things and been shot at with toy weapons. Employer has recommended for the staff not to use that route.

In short: if you are a single male who looks strong enough and doesn't mind witnessing some dodgy things once in a while you'd probably be fine and will get a cheaper rent. But otherwise I wouldn't recommend it.

Muahahaha

A mate got mugged on Foley St a few years back, about 50m from the Steelworks. IMO its dodgy and hasn't got any better, avoid.

I know the area quite well.

Don't do it. It's horrible.

I've lived in er, "colourful" places all over the world so I'm not a delicate flower, but that part of town is grim. I would never choose to live there.

adlerhn

Thanks everybody for your pieces of advice.

This evening I have passed by that street at 7:30 or so, and have seen two guys in a corner who were almost certainly selling drugs to each other.

So yeah, I don't think it has improved much since 2009. I'll avoid it.

Eric Cartman

I work on talbot street and have to walk down foley street to my car at night. I think it would be considered a UN human rights violation to force anybody to walk down that street at night. Broken glass, open heroin use, a bunch of cars were burned out on halloween week one street over.

Id rather live in chernobyl

Bob24

adlerhn wrote: »

Thanks everybody for your pieces of advice.

This evening I have passed by that street at 7:30 or so, and have seen two guys in a corner who were almost certainly selling drugs to each other.

So yeah, I don't think it has improved much since 2009. I'll avoid it.

Wise decision.

myshirt

Christ, that bad?
Where else are you gents saying to avoid?

Eric Cartman

myshirt wrote: »

Christ, that bad?
Where else are you gents saying to avoid?

in the attached picture the road on the very left is oconnel street and the river is the very south of the picture. With the exception of the apartments directly around the chq building , there is nowhere decently safe I can think of to live on this map.

markpb

A friend of mine works for a company in the area. The staff are mugged so often that they have a mandatory personal safety briefing by Gardai on their first week. They're not allowed leave the building unaccompanied after 6:30. The gardai wouldn't walk into the area in groups of less than 5 at Halloween.

Between the druggies waiting for the meth clinic to open in the mornings and the locals there the rest of the time, it's an unpleasant place to be.

Bob24

Eric Cartman wrote: »

in the attached picture the road on the very left is oconnel street and the river is the very south of the picture. With the exception of the apartments directly around the chq building , there is nowhere decently safe I can think of to live on this map.

There are some appartements on Talbot Street which I would say are fine as long as you're not raising a child there. You'd still come across some "interesting" characters but safety would be less of a concern as it is a much busier street than most others in the area (and certainly than Foley Street).

But agreed with you, I would myself avoid the whole area you pictured except the very south east part, and actually if you go just slightly further (mayor square) it becomes much better - and also more expensive.

jathclare

I used to work near the Foley street flats and had my phone pulled out of my hand (my fault for being an easy target) and the little goon ran into the Foley street flats before I could catch him. I told the Gardai and they gave me a lecture for following the little scumbag in there in the first place and I quote "even if you had caught him, the locals would have been after you like a pack of jackels".

I think I even posted my experience onto Boards. So no, I wouldnt recommend living there!

Saipanne

adlerhn wrote: »

Hi,

I am considering renting an apartment in Foley Street, D1. I know, everybody says that D1 is bad. But there are of course better and worse areas.

Is Foley Street considered unsafe? I have seen some posts from 2009 saying so, but 6 years are a long way. Is it still considered unsafe? If so, how unsafe is it? Sheriff Street or Summerhill unsafe?

I'd love to see crime statistics per area/street, if that information is available anywhere.

Foley Street is Dublins "Skid Row".

Caliden

I've lived a very sheltered life.

I opened this thread thinking most replies would be 'it's not the best' / 'safe is you take care of yourself' but every reply is 'stay away'.


Didn't realise it was that bad in that area.

Cuddlesworth

Caliden wrote: »

I've lived a very sheltered life.

I opened this thread thinking most replies would be 'it's not the best' / 'safe is you take care of yourself' but every reply is 'stay away'.


Didn't realise it was that bad in that area.

Combining inner city council housing with a methadone clinic has some interesting effects on a area. Its spreads into Talbot street and connolly station too. It's kinda funny, the local Garda station is a 2 min walk away. Not many places that can claim to be "unsafe" on the doorstep of the authorities.

Daisy78

I work just off Foley St. You couldn't pay me to live there. Even if you were fortunate enough not to get mugged the area in general is very unpleasant. The fact of the matter is that it is a haven for junkies and winos. You are constantly watching your bag, phone, etc and you certainly wouldn't park your car there. There are some nice looking apartment blocks around there but it doesn't outweigh the problems of the area.

Bob24

Daisy78 wrote: »

I work just off Foley St. You couldn't pay me to live there. Even if you were fortunate enough not to get mugged the area in general is very unpleasant. The fact of the matter is that it is a haven for junkies and winos. You are constantly watching your bag, phone, etc and you certainly wouldn't park your car there. There are some nice looking apartment blocks around there but it doesn't outweigh the problems of the area.

Yeah, one improvement in the past few years though is that there seem to be some type of language school opened beside the Steelworks and also an art center/school at the other end of the street. It does bring in more pleasant people during the day. I have sometimes seen people looking for these and looking at a map or at their phone - didn't want to start talking to them out of nowhere and give them a warning as it might seem a bit strange, but kind of wondered whether I should have done it as they clearly looked like easy targets.

Sleepy

The Irish Water offices at the end of Foley Street are covered in posters reminding staff and visitors not to use their phones outside / to make sure to watch their laptop cases etc. A colleague commented that they'd spent half an hour of their induction their being briefed on watching out for themselves on the way to / from work.

It really proves how council housing policies are preventing the inner city from being gentrified. It's location should make Foley Street a prime residential area rather than a no-go kip.

Saipanne

Sleepy wrote: »

The Irish Water offices at the end of Foley Street are covered in posters reminding staff and visitors not to use their phones outside / to make sure to watch their laptop cases etc. A colleague commented that they'd spent half an hour of their induction their being briefed on watching out for themselves on the way to / from work.

It really proves how council housing policies are preventing the inner city from being gentrified. It's location should make Foley Street a prime residential area rather than a no-go kip.

Agreed. Talbot Street could be a great spot if it was cleaned up/out a bit.

Bob24

Sleepy wrote: »

It really proves how council housing policies are preventing the inner city from being gentrified. It's location should make Foley Street a prime residential area rather than a no-go kip.

I'd say yes and no - if the state was doing its duty and enforcing the law rather than being lenient to avoid making waves, council housing itself wouldn't be an issue for the area. What private residents want to avoid as neighbours is not council tenants, it is rather drug dealers and muggers.

But anyway - kind of drifting from then original topic :-)

Sleepy

Using what should be prime real estate to house those unable/unprepared to provide for themselves is a massive waste of state resources. Should these "communities" of social housing tenants be moved to cheaper housing in the suburbs, a fortune could be returned to the exchequer by redeveloping much of the inner city. Some of that money could then be used to fund education, back-to-work schemes etc. to help break the cycle of welfare dependency, drug addiction and crime that is so prevalent in these areas.

But that would involve long-term, brave decision making which we all know is a pipe-dream in this country!

alastair

Sleepy wrote: »

Using what should be prime real estate to house those unable/unprepared to provide for themselves is a massive waste of state resources. Should these "communities" of social housing tenants be moved to cheaper housing in the suburbs, a fortune could be returned to the exchequer by redeveloping much of the inner city. Some of that money could then be used to fund education, back-to-work schemes etc. to help break the cycle of welfare dependency, drug addiction and crime that is so prevalent in these areas.

But that would involve long-term, brave decision making which we all know is a pipe-dream in this country!

Yeah, the previous attempts at wholesale clearing out of inner city communities (no scare quotes needed) to Ballymun, Finglas, Tallaght etc proved to be extremely successful, and a real economic spur to inner city development - not. Honestly, the notion that public housing has no place in the city centre is pretty idiotic. Dublin's problems really aren't anything to do with the numbers of working class, or even welfare-dependent people living in the city. There's ample room and opportunity for all sorts of gentrification in the city as it stands - no need for class cleansing of people out from their homes as a consequence. The Foley street problem is one of crime, not welfare.