The local Muslim community claims to have received “no communication” about when the Islamic Cultural Centre will re-open the largest Mosque in Ireland.

The centre closed over a week ago following a heated internal dispute that reportedly arose from “financial irregularities”.

The national school and creche have since reopened, but all other facilities remain closed.

Community activist Abdul Haseeb told The Hard Shoulder that there has been no communication about when the Mosque might open its doors.

“We reached out to the authorities, the Maktoum Foundation, and we reached out to the management,” he said.

“We haven’t heard anything in response per se.

“There’s a lot of hearsay, there’s a lot of gossip, there’s a lot of unnecessary information going out, unverified information.

“It’s causing a little bit of upset within the community and anxiety amongst a lot of children and women and men as well.”

A general view of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Dublin. Image: PA Images / Alamy. August 3, 2023.

Mr Haseeb said he does not believe the ongoing dispute should impact on the Mosque.

“From our perspective, this is more of a process or a management issue, a difference of opinion between the board of directors versus the senior management,” he said.

“I believe it’s an issue of transparency; it’s an issue of process and breakdown of communication or disagreement between the management and the board of directors.

“We believe, as members of the community and after talking to each other, we’ve concluded that these issues can be resolved in a room, in an office, say a mediation centre or in court - but the Mosque should not be closed down.”

Impact on daily life

According to Mr Haseeb, the closure has hugely impacted the community’s daily life.

“The Mosque plays a really important role in our daily lives – it's kind of our other home basically,” he said.

“We go to the Mosque almost on a daily basis if possible, to pray, to get spiritual solace.

“We go there for funerals, celebrations; it’s our community centre and for us, for that place to be closed abruptly and there’s no communication coming out whatsoever about when it’s going to be open.”

Mr Haseeb said the Mosque also employed around 20 full-time staff, whose livelihoods have also been impacted.

Main image: A lock on the gates of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Clonskeagh, Co Dublin, which has been closed to the public after an incident at the weekend. Image: Brian Lawless. Friday April 25, 2025.