Cambridge Court Ringsend Dublin City Council
September 17, 2008
Cambridge Court in Ringsend is a housing complex for senior citizens run by Dublin City Council. I moved in there a few months ago as I was in substandard accommodation in the private sector before that and really had to get out.
Cambridge Court is not unlike a prison. My flat ( a one roomed one ) is more like a cell than anything else. It’s small and dark…..and it does not feel like home…. A man calls around to each flat every morning just to check the we are ‘alright’ ( not dead ). I had to almost have a stand up argument with him to get him to stop pounding on my door… At another time someone from the local health service came knocking and demanding to know all my health and medical history…..it took yet another argument to get rid of her. Yes , there is no question about it , if you live in a place like Cambridge Court ( if you can’t afford to own you own property that is ) you are treated like not so much a senior citizen but more like a second class one. It’s the new racism in Ireland based on class rather than colour or creed.
It may look pleasant enough…….you might think I’m almost ungrateful in my attitude but the harsh reality is that you are treated very much as a second class citizen here. You are subject to a regime that no home owner would tolerate for a minute… They call it sheltered housing but it’s no more than a sort of apartheid…..The whole concept of keeping older people segregated from the rest of the community is very much the norm now. In fact everyone seems to want to live in closed estates with gates and walls..but that of course does not make it right or desirable….
Still….It’s better than being homeless….
PS. One point that I should make here is to mention the noise. You would imagine that a complex such as this would , if nothing else , be quiet but in this you would be wrong. One of the reasons that I gave up my previous flat was that I couldn’t stand the noise but now I find myself in a worse position. It’s impossible to have a lie-in in the morning or to just write a letter or simple things like that as the noise from the next door radio or television is likely to be blaring through the wall….I find myself in the position that I have no choice but to spend hours every day just walking the street…..this is something you should consider if you are offered a flat here. There is a distinct possibility that your quality of life will be nonexistent…….So yes, it’s better than being homeless but that about it…..there is not a lot more that can be said for it.








