1981 – ILAC Centre, Dublin

The Ilac Centre was opened in 1981, and was one of the first shopping centres in Dublin city centre. The name was made up from the initial letters of the company as it was then known – Irish Life Assurance Company. The properties in the area had been acquired over many years by Dublin Corporation in a plan to comprehensively redevelop the area. Whole streets were to disappear off the map – including Riddle’s Row, Cole’s Lane, and Little Denmark Street, to be replaced with 400,000 square feet of retail, 300,00 sq. feet of offices in two fourteen-storey blocks, a car park with 1,000 spaces, a 240 bedroom hotel, and cinemas, a theatre, restaurants and bars. After partnering with Irish Life, the plan was reduced considerably to provide only 200,000 square feet of shops, car parking and one small Central Library. In total over 100 buildings were demolished to make way for the new development.