Press coverage from 2022-2026 shows this LEA has a well-documented, repeated pattern of serious gun and gang crime concentrated in Drimnagh and the Cherry Orchard part of Ballyfermot, alongside lower-level anti-social behaviour elsewhere. The most significant recent event was the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Josh Itseli in Drimnagh on 6 May 2024, in which gunmen in a passing car opened fire before crashing; the Irish Times described 'gunfire, crashed cars, a pipe bomb and a killing' during the chaotic aftermath, with Gardai voicing concern over a 'minor gang's' access to high-powered weapons. Arrests followed in 2025 but suspects were released without charge (RTE, TheJournal.ie, May 2025). Drimnagh and neighbouring Crumlin are also historically associated with the long-running Crumlin-Drimnagh drug feud, which produced numerous gangland killings in the 2000s and is still referenced in ongoing crime reporting. Cherry Orchard, within Ballyfermot, saw well-documented multi-night disorder in early 2022, with the Irish Examiner describing 'scenes of mayhem' over 'five nights of disturbances' and residents demanding more Garda resources; two men were separately charged after an assault on Gardai in Ballyfermot in November 2022. An Irish Times feature from November 2022 quoted residents saying 'nobody wants to live here' due to persistent car theft. Bluebell has had isolated serious incidents, including a teenager left in serious condition after an assault (Irish Times, May 2023) and an earlier shooting/attempted murder at a flat complex. Organised crime remains active locally, illustrated by a €2m cannabis seizure at a Ballyfermot business in June 2025. A tragic father-and-son murder-suicide spanning Ballyfermot and Clondalkin was reported in January 2026, though this stemmed from a domestic custody dispute rather than street crime. No comparable pattern of daytime street violence was found, but the frequency and severity of gun crime and gang activity, particularly after dark, support a cautious rating. Sources checked: The Irish Times (irishtimes.com); RTE (rte.ie); TheJournal.ie (thejournal.ie); Irish Examiner (irishexaminer.com); Dublin Gazette (dublingazette.com); Dublin People (dublinpeople.com).
Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) — Dublin, Ireland
🟡 Local-source safety assessment · 11 areas reviewed individually Methodology →
In detail
This link is already scoped to this area (not the whole city), using the neighbourhood's real coordinates.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) safe?
Wandroz currently rates Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) in Dublin as roughly average compared to other neighbourhoods in Dublin during the day and an area where the data suggests extra caution relative to other neighbourhoods in Dublin at night. This comes from a structured local-source assessment: an area-level review of credible local sources — local and national news, municipal and police-published material, and official surveys where they exist — consolidated across sources rather than taken from a single report. Dublin publishes no comparable neighbourhood-level crime dataset; where a city does, Wandroz uses it instead.
Is Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) safe at night?
At night, Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) is rated as an area where the data suggests extra caution relative to other neighbourhoods in Dublin. If you're unsure, it's worth checking recent local reviews for your specific street or block, since a neighbourhood-wide rating can't capture block-by-block variation.
Is Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) a good area to stay in as a tourist?
Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell)'s day rating (roughly average compared to other neighbourhoods in Dublin) is the more relevant one for typical daytime tourist activity; check the night rating too if you'll be out late. Note that the Booking.com link on this page searches Ballyfermot, not Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) specifically: Booking does not list this neighbourhood as a destination of its own, so check each property's address against the map above.
Is there official crime data for Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell)?
Not an official government crime feed — Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell)'s rating comes from Wandroz's own current local/national press and survey research for this specific area instead (see the note on this page for what was checked and the sources used). An absence of recent negative coverage is treated as inconclusive, not as proof the area is safe. If you live in or know Ballyfermot-Drimnagh (Ballyfermot, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard, Bluebell) well, you can suggest a correction using the link below.
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