5 6 March 2016
T
he O’ Connell Street area is of
major architectural, historical,
cultural,artisticandsocialimpor-
tance,nationally.Itconstitutesa
distinctquarter of thecity that
wasformallyplanned,laidoutanddevel-
oped between the 1740s and the early
1800s.Thisarchitecturallydistinguished
areahasasimplebutelegantplan-ter-
racedbuildingsliningthestreets,usually
four-to-vestoreysinheight,withthelines
andrhythmofthefacadeslendinganover-
allcoherence.Occasionally,theseterraces
areinterruptedbyalandmarkbuildingthat
confersaspecialqualityorimageontoindi-
vidualstreets.Inspiteofthepressuresof
time,thisareastillremainsrelativelyintact
overtwohundredyearslater,atestimony
totheimportanceofthearea.
Thericharchitecturalcharacterandher-
itage of the O’Connell Street area is
generatednotonlybythelandmarkbuild-
ings or the more signicant protected
structuressuchastheGPO,thePro-Cathe-
dral,TyroneHouseor the Rotunda. The
specialcharacterisbuiltupbytheinterac-
tionbetween theseimportantbuildings
andtheordinarybuildingstock,aswellas
thestockofhistoricalandculturalmemo-
ries and associations attachedtothese
buildingsandpublicspaces.
InrecenttimesDublinCityCouncilhas
producedvolumesofplans,withlimited
teethandcharacteristicallyprospective-
only application (ie they only apply to
future planning applications).The most
notableisthearchitecturalconservation
area.TheCityCouncilstated:
"Inordertoproperlyprotectandmanage
thisrichlegacy,itisessentialnottocon-
centratesolely onthe preservation and
restorationofthelandmarkbuildings,but
alsoontheconservationandtheregenera-
tionofthewiderhistoricurbanarea.The
ArchitecturalConservationAreaprovidesa
mechanismtoprotect and enhancethis
widerarea.Itwillseektoprotecttheexist-
ing strong local sense of place, while
accommodatingthechangingneedsand
imageofthearea.Itmustbestressedthat
isnotintendedtopreventdevelopment.
Instead,itisintendedtoensurethatdevel-
opment, when it takes place combines
positivelywiththehistoricfabricandisto
ahighdesignstandard".
AnewplanforDublin’sO’ConnellStreet,
whichwillgovernthefutureuseandarchi-
tectural treatment of its buildings was
publishedbyDublinCityCouncilin2015.
The draft scheme of special planning
controlforO’ConnellStreetandsurround-
ingareas,includingHenryStreet,North
EarlStreetandMiddleAbbeyStreet,as
wellasWestmorelandStreetandD’Olier
Street,isdesignedtoencourageappropri-
atecommercialactivity,whileprotecting
thearea’sarchitectural,cultural,civicand
historiccharacter.
Theschemegivesextraplanningpowers
toprotectexistingshopsof“specialsigni-
cance”anddiscourages“lessappropriate
uses”ofpremises.
Permissionwillnotbegrantedunderthe
schemeforcertaintypesofshops,includ-
ing amusement arcades, bookmakers,
fast-foodoutlets,mobile-phoneshopsor
“adultentertainment”shops.
Inevitably,in Irelandoftheoverriding
fearoflawyersundertheConstitution,the
measureswillhaveprospectiveforceonly.
MorepreciselyadesignationofwhatIS
appropriate should be formulated for
O'ConnellSt-somethingalongthelinesof
"reinforcing the character of the street as
the country's most important civic and his-
torically important boulevard". Ideally
activityonthestreetshouldbewholesome
andfamily-friendly.Andimaginative.
The National
Thoroughfare
O'Connell Street is the epicentre of Irish
Constitutional Nationalism and its GPO the principal
locus for the Easter Rising and the Proclamation of
the Republic. So how's it doing?
by Kevin Duff
O'Connell St 1916 as Metaphor for the Republic.
Is it any better now?
c
ENVIRONMENT
March 2016 5 7
2016
O'CONNELL
STREET
5 8 March 2016
Shopfront guidelines
Above-leftisDublinCityCouncil'sproposedimprovementfor
theshopfrontat14LowerO'ConnellStreetaspublishedin
the O'Connell Street Area Shopfront Design Guidelines
(2003),withacurrentphotographoftheshopfrontabove-
right.Ratherthanimproving,ithasdeterioratedsignicantly
inthethirteenyearsof'operation'oftheguidelines,with
complaints to the City Council's planning enforcement
departmentgoingunresolved.Theconditionofthisshop-
front,whichisonaprominentstretchofLowerO'Connell
StreetoppositeEasonsandclosetotheformerClerysland-
mark, encapsulates the failure ofDublin City Council to
secureandmaintainthemostbasicpresentationstandards
onO'ConnellStreetdespitethesuccessionofplanspub-
lishedforimprovementofthestreetsincethelate1990s.
Disused phone boxes
AtO'ConnellBridge,Eircom(nowEir)aresellingthewindow
spaceofvirtually-disusedphone-boxestoadvertiserssuch
asfast-foodchains.Theeffectistoreinforceidentiedprob-
lemsofexcessfast-fooduseinthearea,anddespitethe
strict controls outlined for advertising structures in the
'SchemeofSpecialPlanningControl'fortheO'ConnellStreet
area.Thesticker-glazingadvertisementsare,inturn,con-
cealinganti-socialbehaviourinsidethephoneboxesaswell
asclutteringthepavementandvisuallyinjuringanarchitec-
turallyandhistoricallysensitiveareawithintheO'Connell
StreetACA.
Clerys closure highlighs need for
Plnning inervenion
Departmentstoresonthesitedatefrom1853whenMcSwiney,DelanyandCo.
opened‘TheNeworPalatialMart'onthesiteofthepresentstorethoughthe
currentbuildingwasbuiltin1922,havingbeencompletelydestroyedinthe
1916EasterRising.In1883,thepremiseswastakenoverandrenamedbyM.J.
Clery(d.1896),anativeofBulgaden,Co.Limerick.WilliamMartinMurphy,of
1913Lockoutinfamy,wasalsoinvolvedinthebusiness.
Cleryscompletedave-yearrestorationprogrammein2004atacostof€24
million.CleryswassoldbyBoston-basedGordonBrotherstoNatriumLtdlast
Summer.OCSOperationsLtd,whichhadbeenrunningtheshop,wasthen
placedintoliquidation,resultingintheprecipitousclosureofthefamousshop.
Morethan400staff,includingdirectemployeesofClerysandthoseworking
forconcessionholdersatthestore,losttheirjobsinalockout2015-style.
Photo taken by the author's father
ENVIRONMENT
March 2016 5 9
Antennae
UnsightlytelecommunicationsantennaeadorntheMiddle
AbbeyStreetroofoftheEasonsbuilding,LowerO'Connell
Street, a protected structure which is seen in the view
towardstheGPO.Aplanningsearchcannotrevealpermis-
sionforalloftheseantennae,howeveritseemsDublinCity
Councilismoreinterestedinpursuinga90-year-oldwoman
forlegalcostsfollowingerectionofasatellitedishoutside
hersuburbanhomethanensuringIreland'smainstreetis
presentedtoanappropriatehighstandardandcomplieswith
planninglaws.
Clerys decorated for the 50th anniversary celebrations, Easter 1966
6 0 March 2016
English developer Hammerson recently
boughttheformer 'DublinCentral' (also
knownasthe'MillenniumMall'andCarlton
[Cinema]siteaspartofProjectJewel,Nama's
biggest portfolio. The site stretches from
O'ConnellSttothecontroversial'ElAlamo'
siteonMooreSt.Permissionforlarge-scale
development on the site was originally
obtainedbyJoeO'Reilly'sDeveloperChar-
teredLand.Itenvisagesavestoreyover
basementretailandofceschemeat40,41
and42O'ConnellStreetUpper.Theproposal
includes1,171sqmofretailand2,654sqmof
ofcespace.CharteredLand'soriginalplan
foranoverheadski-slope'parkinthesky'
element was - amazingly - approved by
DublinCityCouncilbutremovedbyAnBord
Pleanála.
Numbers40and41O'ConnellStreetwere
thesiteoftheoldRoyalDublinHotelwhich
closed in December 2008. The site also
embraces Dr Quirkey's long-unlicensed
Amusementarcadeandanumeroffurry-dice
shops.Ave-storeybuildingwillbecon-
structedonthe site of number 40. Itwill
includeaset-backterraceonthefthoor
overlookingO'ConnellStreet.
ThesitealsoincludesNumber39which
wasbuiltin1752,isaprotectedstructure
and is the oldest surviving building on
O'ConnellSt.
The Royal Dublin Hotel where corrupt
councillors congregated in the heyday of
rezoningdodginessinDublinCityCouncil.
Shenanigansoverthissitehavebeendoc-
umented on several occasions in these
columns.
ENVIRONMENT
Dublin City Council's vision of O'Connell St?
March 2016 6 1
Luas Use
TheLuaslinewill,fromnextyear,disruptthesuccessfulsemi-
pedestrianisationofO'ConnellStreet,perhapsdivertingstreet
activitytotheexcitingnewcivicspaceproposedforCollege
Green.Strongargumentsholdforstreamingpublictransport
down the cities main thoroughfare. However, confounding
publictransportwithtaxisisamistake.Taxisareinfactchauf-
feur-drivenprivate-hirevehicles,whichconstituteaninefcient
useofcity-centrestreetspace,andexacerbatecongestion,cli-
mateemissionandairpollutionimpact.
Inthe1980swhenDublinsufferedadearthoftaxisandno
nightbuses,manywillrememberlong,chillyqueuesaftera
nightout.NowDublinhasagreatlyimprovedpublictransport
system,anexcellentbuslinktotheAirport ,andcitybike
scheme.Thecurrentover-useandover-supplyoftaxisisnotin
thecity'sinterestandneedstobecurtailed,mostofallinthe
OConnellSttoCollegeGreentoSouthGreatGeorgesStarea.

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