Dublin disappoints: what happened to city cycling's great hope?

In 2013 the Irish capital was ranked among the world's top 20 bike-friendly cities, but only a small part of the promised cycle network was ever built

One sunny May afternoon in Dublin, as the Spice Girls prepared to kick off their Spice World 2019 tour at Croke Park stadium, the coaches bringing their fans unwittingly sparked another reunion - the city's cycle activists.

It had been two years since the direct action group I Bike Dublin had mobilised to protect cycle tracks from car parking - uniting around twice a week under the hashtag #freethecyclelane - but as police officers directed coach drivers to park in the bike lane by Dublin Bay, blocking the track, the protesters were back.