The demolition of 16 Eighteenth Century houses in 1960’s Dublin destroyed the longest expanse of Georgian architecture in the world. The insertion of the modernist ESB building, by Sam Stephenson, into the centre of Fitzwilliam Street robbed Dublin of one of the great set pieces of 18th Century urban design.
The ESB plans to demolish the 1960’s office block and redevelop the site. Dublin City Council policy is to reconstruct the facades and return this great urban vista to its original grandeur. However, the ESB plan a half hearted faux Georgian response rather than an authentic reconstruction. To facilitate this an amendment has been proposed to the Dublin City Development Plan – which is going to a vote at the March 2014 Dublin City Council meeting. Stop the ESB – Save Dublin’s Georgian Mile. Lobby your Councillors now !
We at The Liberal will be writing to every Councillor to ask them what their position is in relation to the change (Variation 16) to Dublin City Development Plan. The Georgian street-scape must be reinstated as planned. We will be publishing in the coming weeks the response we receive from each Councillor on this critical issue on the estetic future of the capital city.
We would urge you, our readers, to get behind the campaign and contact your Councillor and tell them how important Georgian Dublin is to our economy and to our future.
The next Council Meeting is Monday the 3rd March 2014.
Below is a full list of email addresses for County Councillors. Just copy the list and paste into the BCC section of your email.
“Cllr Brian McDowell” <brian.mcdowell@labour.ie>
“Cllr Aine Clancy” <aine.clancy@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Andrew Montague” <andrewmontague@me.com>
“Cllr Anna Quigley” <anna.quigley@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Anthony Connaghan” <CllrAnthony.Connaghan@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Bill Tormey” <billtormey@gmail.com>
Cllr Bríd Smith <brid.smith@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Christy Burke” <christy.burke@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Cieran Perry” <cieran.perry@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Clare Byrne” <clare.byrne@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Criona Ni Dhalaigh” <Criona.Nidhalaigh@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Declan Flanagan” <declan.flanagan@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Deirdre Heney” <heneydm@gmail.com>
“Cllr Dermot Lacey ” <dermot.lacey@labour.ie>
“Cllr Edie Wynne ” <wynnee@eircom.net>
“Cllr Gerry Ashe” <gerry.ashe@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Gerry Breen” <gerry.breen@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Henry Upton” <henry.upton@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Hugh McGarr” <hugh.mcgarr@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Jim O’Callaghan” <jim@jimocallaghan.com>
“Cllr John Gallagher” <john.gallagher@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr John Redmond” <john.redmond2@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Kieran Binchy” <kieran.binchy@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Larry O’Toole” <larry.otoole@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Louise Minihan” <louise.minihan@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Lucy McRoberts” <lucy.mcroberts@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Mannix Flynn” <mannix.flynn@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Maria Parodi” <maria.parodi@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Mary Freehill” <freehill@eircom.net>
“Cllr Mary Fitzpatrick” <mary.fitzpatrick@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Mary O’Shea” <mary.oshea@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Michael O’Sullivan” <getmos@gmail.com>
“Cllr Naoise OMuiri” <campaign@naoise.ie>
“Cllr Padraig McLoughlin” <padraig.mcloughlin@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Pat Crimmins” <crimminspat@gmail.com>
“Cllr Pat Dunne” <pat.dunne1@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Paul McAuliffe” <paul.mcauliffe@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Ray McAdam” <raymcadam@gmail.com>
“Cllr Rebecca Moynihan” <rebecca.moynihan@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Ruairi McGinley” <ruairi.mcginley@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Seamas McGrattan” <seamas.mcgrattan@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr SeanPaul Mahon” <seanpaul.mahon@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Sheila Howes” <sheila.howes@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Tom Brabazon” <tom.brabazon@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Vincent Jackson” <vincent.jackson@dublincity.ie>
“Cllr Paddy McCarten” <cllrpatmccartan@gmail.com>
“damian.ofarrell” <damian.ofarrell@gmail.com>
“Jane Horgan-Jones” <horganjones.jane@gmail.com>
“Cllr Michael MacDonncha” <mmacdonncha@gmail.com>
“Cllr Nial Ring Eircom” <nialring@eircom.net>
“Cllr Paddy Bourke” <pbourkecllr@eircom.net>
There’s a Facebook campaign page you can join here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restore-Fitzwilliam-Street-Dublins-Georgian-Mile/303073159831331
interesting article. Thank you.
Dublin has a unique architecture & heritage. Much good work has been done, to promote our tourism & heritage industry – but there is also the potential for so much more.
We have a beautiful capital city & should be proud of it.
Rebuilding the lost Georgian houses in Fitzwilliam Street and indeed in other parts of Dublin is a great idea in theory, but the problem is that even if traditional techniques and materials right down to reclaimed 18th century bricks are used, what is created is just a pastiche of what was demolished; a mock Georgian facade covering a 21st century building. Heritage once destroyed is gone forever and if that lesson can be learned, then the wanton destruction of those 16 examples of the finest Irish craftsmanship won’t have been for nothing.