“What we discovered is public pitches are generally made to prevent anti-social behaviour,” says Gavin Fahy. But “they also prevent social behaviour”.

Hibernia REIT asked the council for a land swap or joint venture. A spokesperson said Tuesday that the company thought there was room for a more attractive development with more social homes.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council says it no longer plans to sell off the land – but the site is still excluded from a draft Traveller accommodation strategy.

“We can challenge and subvert network systems simply by highlighting where they are,” said Paul O’Neill, an activist-academic, to a group on a recent Saturday.

Dublin City Council has connected some groups in the city seeking brighter walls with graffiti artists. It’s working on sorting more spots.

The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PRSA) is drawing up a code of conduct for those it oversees – which will cover issues such as fees charged to tenants.

“This isn’t just about homelessness,” says Alice Leahy. “This is much broader than that. It is as if we have become so informed that we are forgetting about the basics.”

Councillors discussed the fate of allotment holders pushed out of Weaver Square, plans for developing Cherry Orchard, and results of a traffic-calming experiment.