Re: Re: Dublin Street Lighting

We’ve established that the magnificent 1930s concrete Art Deco lamps which once lined (primarily) the main streets of what is now the O’Connell Street IAP area were removed wholesale in the late-’70s, except for a cluster around College Street / D’Olier Street, and, scandalously, that several more were removed within the last five years: the two seen on College Street outside the now Wesin Hotel in the top left picture, which were replaced with ‘heritage reproduction’ (the top right picture shows the heritage repros being put in) – a piece of official cultural vandalism – and two more on O’Connell Bridge, one of which is seen in the above picture (the other having been in the same position on the other side of the bridge).

I think it is reasonable to suggest that the two on O’Connell Bridge that had survived up to this time had lost their context; they were just two leftovers at the south end of the bridge and did not relate to anything else in the vicinity. Given this, the obvious thing to do was to carefully lift and relocate them so as to consolidate the surviving cluster on College Street / D’Olier Street, where they looked so good next to the stone and brick buildings, NOT simply remove and/or destroy (?) them.

Recently I have noticed that the few remaining ones of these lamps are in poor repair. There is selophane wrapped around most of them, as the concrete is starting to crumble. These lamps are an authentic example of Dublin’s heritage, and it would be a pure scandal to loose them. Does anyone know exactly who to contact in Dublin City Council about them?

In fairness to them it looks like there is plans to fix them at some stage, it just seems that the work needs to be done as a matter of urgency.