Dublin Since 1990

Hi all,

Pondering the development of Dublin since 1990, if all of the buildings built since 1990 were missing, it would be no exaggeration to say that most of the quays and side streets in Dublin would be empty wastelands. Temple Bar would be like a set of rotten teeth and the quays would be a succession of empty plots. Mountjoy Square would have two sides missing, Gardiner Street would be one grand sweep of nothing for considerable stretches, Clanbrassil, Parnell and Patrick Streets would still be car-parks, and thats not to even start on the docklands.

Surely this must be the greatest peacetime changing of any European city? A challenge for anyone would be to find one streetscape that has had no re-construction in the last fifteen years. You won’t find one (and before someone mentions the Georgian core, buildings on Fitzwilliam and Merrion Square were gutted for modern office infill since the 1990s…)

Whether you like Dublin’s transformation or not, it surely is breathtaing in its pace. It is also amazing how there are still so many dramtic new additions in the pipeline. To think in the 1980s The ILAC caused a stir amongst shoppers and the city. How innocent we were then….

😉