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The Journal
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Journal
The arrival of 'Brendan', Dublin's new AI tour guide, has divided historians of the city
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has partnered with a company called CityMe AI to devise one of the world's first Artificial Intelligence tour guides. However, the Council has said there are no plans to continue the partnership with or to develop the concept further. It comes after walking tour guides and historians criticised the move. 'Local' AI-guides CityMe AI describes itself as an 'Artificial Intelligence urban tourism audio company' and it develops 'local' AI-guides. The company says on its website that the guide is 'endowed with a native personality and is expert in the city'. It works by downloading the CityMe app, choosing the city tourists want to discover, and users are then introduced to their AI-guide. The app currently has AI-guides for Dublin, London, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla, with plans to roll it out in Berlin, Roma, Malaga, New York and Cadiz. CityMe AI said 'Brendan' has 'distinct Dublin wit, charm, and a playful personality' and can cover over 500 cultural and historical spots across the city. In the introductory video on the app, Brendan describes Oscar Wilde as the 'GOAT' (Greatest of all time). A spokesperson for CityMe AI said the app uses geolocation and AI-audio technology to provide real-time narrations for each location in a 'warm, locally inspired storytelling style'. CityMe AI added that there are 'plans also in motion for him to speak Irish'. 'AI slop' However, there has been criticism of the move. Historian Donal Fallon expressed concern that tour guides could be 'out of a job for AI slop'. 'AI slop' refers to low-quality, and sometimes inaccurate and nonsensical content, that can be generated by AI tools with little human oversight. 'You could develop a really brilliant interactive map of Dublin, with each stop opening a video of a real, living person explaining a site,' added Fallon in a post on social media. Dan McKenna from Original Dublin, which offers several different types of walking tours of Dublin, also voiced concern about AI slop. Speaking to The Journal , he noted that AI is 'not always reliable for historical facts'. He said he did an 'experiment' with an AI tool and posted a question to the AI around a supposed historical event that never happened. 'It gave us a nonsense story explaining how this made-up event happened. 'It's not a reliable source, because it just trawls the internet and the internet is not always reliable.' He added that guides can be a 'very personal thing' and AI is unlikely to replicate this. 'There'll be some people who will prefer this, but I think most people would prefer to hear someone actually from Dublin. 'There's something about human association that is resonant, that makes people react to it, and guiding is especially personal. 'That is something that matters to people, but whether it'll matter to people in 20 years, as all of this stuff develops, remains to be seen.' Advertisement 'Connection' Garvan Rushe started tour guiding in 2009 and established Dublin Tour Guide in 2012. He also noted that people are looking for 'connection' on tours and told The Journal that such apps such are 'short lived'. 'We don't just tell people information, that's a very superficial understanding of what a tour guide does. 'It's more important to want to connect with people than it is to be a historian. 'There's so much more value in the experience than just learning information or hearing stories and that connection is not going to be replaced by an AI.' He added: 'This could potentially risk jobs, and Dublin City Council has better things to be spending its time on, such as providing more public seating and public bins. 'They're just not thinking about these amenities that make it easier for tourists.' Tourist information desk along Earl Street North. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo However, he noted that the Local Enterprise Office within the Council is 'fantastic and does a lot to help businesses. 'It would be nice if the Council would contact the industry,' said Rushe. 'However, I think it has limited risk because people want to experience Ireland and meet Irish people and they know AI with an Irish accent is not an Irish person.' Elsewhere, Peter Gormley from Yellow Umbrella Tours also highlighted the importance of the personal connection. 'The concept isn't new and similar apps have been around for years, although now they're developing and powered by AI. 'At the same time, the number of people who go on walking tours with a live guide has increased enormously so I wouldn't have any concern about this app.' He also expressed hope that it might be a worthwhile venture. 'I wouldn't necessarily have a negative view about using this technology and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. 'To ignore the fact that AI is out there probably wouldn't be a good thing. 'The city has to have to keep up with technology, and I'm sure other cities will take advantage of this new type of technology.' 'Future of city exploration' In a statement to The Journal , Dublin City Council said its Smart Cities team is always trying out new ideas and looking at emerging technologies. The AI-guide has been rolled out under Smart Dublin, which was founded in 2016 by the four Dublin Local Authorities. Its stated aim is to 'future-proof the Dublin region by trialling and scaling innovative solutions to a wide range of local challenges'. Meanwhile, Dublin was last year named European Capital of Smart Tourism and the Council spokesperson said that as a result of this, the team were approached by CityMe AI to pilot an 'AI guide for the independent traveller'. It went live last Friday and the spokesperson said 'we sought feedback across our social channels'. However, it appears that such content has been deleted from Dublin City Council's social media channels. The spokesperson added that there are 'no plans currently to continue the partnership with CityMe AI or to develop this concept further'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
09-06-2025
- Business
- The Journal
Fáilte Ireland gets green light to create food hall in vacant church near Grafton Street
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has given the green light to Fáilte Ireland for its planning application to establish a food hall at the vacant St Andrew's Church near Grafton Street in Dublin 2. The council has granted planning permission after concluding that the planned food hall would comply with the zoning objective of the site and would not detract from the area's civic character. Fáilte Ireland will not be operating the food hall itself but will now instead press ahead with its plans to seek an experienced operator to lease the space out for food hall use. In a letter to Dublin City Council, Laura McCarthy from Fáilte Ireland stated that 'the proposed change of use for the premises has the potential to create a major centrally based asset for the city, with the potential to inject cultural and economic value which would benefit local residents, employees and all visitors, both domestic and foreign'. Manager at Corporate Services at Fáilte Ireland McCarthy pointed out that food tourism generates around €2 billion to the Irish economy each year. Advertisement McCarthy said: 'In order to generate and sustain further economic opportunity and economic development we need to create iconic food and drink experiences – the proposed change of use and redevelopment of St Andrew's would be the embodiment of that vision. She added: 'It is envisaged that the proposed food hall will showcase the best of local and Irish produce within a very high-quality setting which will not only reinvigorate but repurpose part of our capital city's historic building inventory.' Planning documents stated that the new food hall has the potential to generate 30-40 full and part-time jobs. The Swords-based Wright Group secured planning for a food hall at St Andrew's Church in 2019 through its Mink Fusion subsidiary but with the Covid-19 pandemic intervening the firm did not proceed with the five-year planning permission. In a separate planning report lodged with the application by David Mulcahy Planning Consultants, it stated that the proposed new use 'will bring life back to this vacant building which is one of the most prominent buildings in the city'. Mulcahy stated that 'the concept of a food/dining hall, which is essentially a permanent indoor market with associated dining facilities, is well established in most European cities and they are very popular for tourists, city residents and local employees'. He said that the emphasis will be on showcasing local produce, fresh where possible, and all individual vendors will be required to provide a high quality offering.
The Journal
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
New company to take over Dublin City clothes banks after last one reached 'maximum capacity'
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL will shortly announce a new company to take over the city's €1 million clothes bank collection service. It comes four months after clothing collections in the local authority were suspended, when the previous company collecting from the clothes banks saw their storage warehouses reach 'maximum capacity'. A strategic policy committee meeting heard this afternoon that the tender process for a new operator for textile recycling infrastructure closed two weeks ago, and the tenders submitted are now being assessed. According to eTenders , the contract is worth €1 million and will be valid for two years. Derek Kelly, the director of service at DCC, told the committee that they received 'a number of applicants' for the new contract, adding that he would circulate the details once the process has finished. 'Hopefully within the next week or two, at most, we'll have the winners decided, and we'll enter the pre-contract negotiations,' he said, adding that he hoped a new operator would be in place in the next six weeks. The previous operator, Textile Recycling Limited (TRL), temporarily suspended their service on 27 January. 'Extraordinary backlog' A report on the recycling services that was circulated on 6 March stated that this was due to their storage facilities reaching 'maximum capacity' as a result of 'increasing difficulties in the international used textiles industry'. Services were also suspended or withdrawn from a number of other local authorities around the country, before they resumed on 13 February. 'Due to ongoing global events, many international textile markets are currently inaccessible, which has resulted in an extraordinary backlog of materials in storage in TRL's warehouses, creating the need for the leasing of additional sites and purchasing of containers,' the report stated. It stated that DCC Waste Management Services Cleansing teams across the city 'were instructed to focus on the removal of bags and clothing litter from bring bank locations during this temporary suspension of collections'. Contracts for the collection and processing of this clothing were historically done on a concession basis, where the service provider paid the local authority a set price per tonnes of materials collected each month. The report stated that due to the difficulties in the international textile industry, 'this model has become increasingly unsustainable in recent years'. Advertisement 'It has become apparent that future contracts will require Local Authorities to pay service providers to carry out the service,' it added. Collection services have since resumed, with DCC enacting 'emergency procurement protocols' to establish a temporary contract during the procurement process. Fast fashion 'big issue' Green Party councillor Janet Horner, who was chairing the committee, asked Kelly what oversight it has when it comes to what happens to the clothing after it is collected. Kelly said that it depends on whether the operator has recycling outlets within the State. If they do not, it is shipped to other jurisdictions. This is monitored by Dublin City Council's National TransFrontier Shipments Office. 'That's where the NTFSO step in to make sure that it isn't just leaving the state and going into a landfill in somebody else's jurisdiction. That can't be allowed to happen,' he said. Kelly said he would ask the office to pass on information to the committee around the criteria of what is classified as waste and what isn't in the textile market. 'It is a complex area,' he continued. 'The nature of the world at the moment, there's a lot of fast fashion, and the textile quality isn't up to recycling even, and that's a big issue in the international markets at the moment for textiles.' The Journal recently reported on how Irish charity shops are seeing an influx of donations of clothing from fast fashion brand Shein , many of which have never been worn and still have tags on. Horner said a certain cohort of the population are very aware of the issues around fast fashion and 'the elements of disposability of a lot of what people are getting rid of'. She said that the more data the committee had about what happens to the collected clothing would be helpful for consumer education 'as well as for implementing more effective programs higher up the chain to ensure that we are minimising the amount of waste that is getting disposed of'. The committee also heard that there are 'sporadic issues' of illegal dumping around certain bring banks. Kelly said DCC have a crew assigned to monitor certain bring banks on a daily basis and collect any illegal dumping. He said the issue is something that the council need to keep under review 'over the next while'. 'I haven't been getting in any way the level of complaints that have previously been sent in by elected members and the general public around the conditions of certain sites,' he said. 'I'm not saying it's gone away, but it's nowhere near where it was.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
23-05-2025
- General
- The Journal
Close to 70 Airbnb-style lock boxes removed in Dublin since crackdown started in mid-April
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has removed 69 lock boxes from public realm spaces since a crackdown began in mid-April. The key lock boxes are increasingly being used across Europe to store accommodation keys for short-term rentals, such as Airbnb. Rather than having to meet the renter in person, or install some type of electronic lock or key box on the property, some Airbnb owners are storing keys in lock boxes that they then attach to public infrastructure, such as bike stands and street signage poles. The renters are given a code which allows them to open the lock box and retrieve the key for the accommodation, without the need for the landlord to meet them in person. However, the placement of these lock boxes in the public realm is not authorised by Dublin City Council and the Council approved measures to 'remove and destroy' the lock boxes from 14 April. Advertisement In a report in February, the Council noted that the lock boxes are sometimes 'left lying on the ground without any protection, resulting in a public health issue as they may become contaminated' over time. In January, Paris followed several other French cities in banning the use of key lock boxes in public spaces. Dublin City Council said that the 69 lock boxes that have been removed so far have been 'shredded'. 'Removals will continue to occur when observed or when we are notified by members of the public of a location,' said a Council spokesperson, who added that if anyone wants to report a location, they can do so by emailing citycentreprojects@ . Sinn Féin Councillor Ciarán Ó Meachair welcomed the figures and said 'Dubliners are very rightly concerned about the effect that short-term holiday rentals are having on the housing crisis'. 'The overabundance of them in certain parts of Dublin is causing areas to lose any sense of community,' he added. He also encouraged the public to report lockboxes to Dublin City Council to 'ensure this clutter is removed from our streets'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
29-04-2025
- The Journal
Council re-takes possession of former home of 1916 rising leader after alleged trespassers vacate
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has re-taken possession of the former home and shop of 1916 Rising leader Tom Clarke, on Amiens Street in Dublin, after a dozen alleged trespassers vacated the property, the High Court has heard. Last November, the council issued High Court proceedings aimed at restraining 'persons unknown' from trespassing at the property after receiving reports of unauthorised occupation last May. Today at the High Court, Gavin Mooney SC, for the council, said that an undertaking had been agreed by those allegedly trespassing to vacate the house. He added that, upon inspection, there had been 'slightly more damage' to the property than thought, but that this would not be an issue. None of the 12 named alleged trespassers were in court this morning before Mr Justice Brian Cregan, who adjourned the matter. Mr Mooney said the 12 individuals had now given their names to the council and vacated the house. Advertisement In February, an application by the council for a court-ordered inspection of the Georgian building was adjourned amid concerns of a 'stand-off' with anyone occupying the premises. One of the alleged trespassers told the High Court that while some in occupancy 'had no huge objection' to the inspection, others were not sure. 'We deal with things by consensus,' then-occupant Jem Cleaver told the court. Ms Cleaver told Mr Justice Cregan that she did not want a 'stand off' between any of the occupants and any council staff entering and inspecting the seven-bedroom building. Dublin City Council was seeking to inspect the premises, which dates from the 1790s, for damages caused either by Storm Éowyn or by the occupants. Mr Justice Cregan had been told the occupants accepted that they had to vacate the heritage site by May 12 next but opposed an inspection, which they feared would violate their privacy and prejudice them on any council housing list should they give their names to officials. The council spent €630,000 on purchasing the run-down building in 2018 with plans to transform it into a museum and community centre. The court previously heard works have not begun as a chosen contractor pulled out in 2023, but that the council is 'anxious' to revive its restoration plan. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
