It's a blustery one out there today, wintry showers, sunny spells and temperatures of only 7-9°C. But before you curse the weather, we've got a genuinely urgent piece of news for any first-time buyers in North County Dublin — an affordable homes portal opens at noon TODAY in Skerries. Read that section carefully and get your application in. Also: 2,000 homes in Cherry Orchard are back on the table after a Government U-turn, and Gene are at The Academy tonight.

Northside West · Cherry Orchard / Dublin 10

Big news for Cherry Orchard this week. After the Government scrapped its Public Private Partnership model — which had stalled 2,000 homes across Dublin including in Cherry Orchard — the project has been saved and brought back under the Dublin Home Building Programme. Dublin City Council confirmed that builders are expected to be on site in Cherry Orchard in the second quarter of 2026. Sinn Féin Councillor Daithi Doolan called it "a game-changer for Cherry Orchard." For a community that has waited a very long time for real investment, this is significant.

Dublin-Wide · Cost Rental · A First for Ireland

Connected to the Skerries story — Tuath Housing has also this week introduced a groundbreaking local priority allocation model for a separate new cost-rental development in Dublin, the first ever in the AHB sector. Under the new approach, 25% of homes are reserved for applicants with a local connection to the area, with the remaining 75% open nationally. Tuath CEO Sean O'Connor said the model "helps ensure people can continue to live and contribute to the communities they are part of." This is a quietly significant policy shift — one that recognises something most Dublin residents feel deeply: that being priced out of your own area is one of the most painful parts of the housing crisis.

Southside · Dún Laoghaire / City-Wide

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett — the Dún Laoghaire representative — has described the housing crisis as "spiralling out of control," pointing to HomelessirelaNd figures showing 17,000 people homeless nationally and warning that the removal of Rent Pressure Zone protections for new tenancies from March will accelerate the problem further. He is calling for a radical expansion of public and not-for-profit housing, and has accused the Government of treating housing as a commodity rather than a right. The Social Democrats are simultaneously pushing a Dublin City Council motion to have housing formally recognised as a fundamental human right.

Weather Warning · Northside Coast · Active Until This Morning

Met Éireann had an active yellow wind warning in place overnight with northwest winds reaching gale force 8 at times — particularly affecting the Northside coast around Clontarf, Dollymount and Howth. The warning is valid until 10am this morning, after which conditions ease. If you're commuting on the Northside coast road or the DART this morning, allow extra time — the tail-end of those gusts may still be causing delays on elevated sections. Check met.ie for the latest. 🌬️

Southside · Dundrum / D14

A reminder for Southside readers — the plans for nearly 1,000 new homes on the former Central Mental Hospital site in Dundrum are progressing to tender in early 2026 if objections are not received. The Land Development Agency is backing the project on the former Victorian hospital site off Gort na Móna Drive that the HSE vacated in 2023. The mix includes apartments, duplexes and houses — catering for singles, families, older residents and first-time buyers. If you live in Dundrum and haven't heard about this development, now you have. One of the biggest single-site regenerations planned anywhere on the Southside. 🏠

Grian Chatten Is Playing Vicar Street This Week — And Dublin Is Lucky to Have Him

Last night's Grian Chatten show at Vicar Street is already being talked about as one of the best Dublin gigs of the year. The Skerries and Dublin native, yes, another Skerries man having a moment, came home for a solo show that was by all accounts intimate, powerful and deeply connected to the city he comes from. Fontaines D.C. have become one of the most critically acclaimed bands in Europe, and Grian's solo work shows another dimension entirely. If you missed last night, well. The Scoop told you to go. 😄 More Fontaines dates coming later in the year.

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Right — if you're a first-time buyer in Fingal, stop reading this and go to fingal.ie/prioryfields at noon. The portal for the Skerries affordable homes opens today and you do not want to miss it. For everyone else — wrap up warm, the wintry showers are real today. Gene at The Academy tonight is a brilliant midweek option. And the week ahead is looking up — the Allianz League Finals at Croke Park this weekend, Donegal v Kerry, should be a great day out.

Back tomorrow morning.

, The Dublin Scoop Team