gambling in o’connell street

That’s crazy is’nt it ….So now all the riff raff who hang out in Marlborough Street will be able to frequent the Bookies on Ireland’s main Street.
Don’t forget Anne Summers too facing the GPO.
One step forward Two steps backwards
….Jasus I think even another pub would probably be better ….for the tourists etc…and me. All these bookies yet the moral squad won’t allow Casinos………..what dumbkoffs.

A classy bar would have been better. Ever been to the Dome in Edinburgh? Lovely conversion of a very improsing bank interior.

Surely a bookies is not the sort of premises that the City Council wants to promote on the main street of Ireland – the silence from them is defining. Temple Bar properties sucessfully block McDonalds from opening a fast food shop in Temple Bar (where Luigi Malones is now) – so surely the City Council/O’Connell Street scheme could block this as not being in keeping with the redevelopment

a classy bookies seems a good use of a banking building and certainly no worse than a pub. it’s part of our culture too. sure, there are bad things about gambling, its addictive and, in the past, bookies were seedy, but the same is true of drinking and pubs.

Ah notjim, would’nt a pub be far better in regards to attracting everybody, having a Guinness, a traditional sing song and the craic. It would attract the natives and the tourists.
A bookies, well would attract just gamblers.
Don’t get me wrong I’m all on for Casinos, Porn Shops, Lapdancing joints etc etc…. for Dublin. As a once sex starved insular society we need such brashness and crudities of human life, it’s part of traditon…..but not on the main thoroughfare however, especially when we are trying to invoke a sense of the chic and clean the kip up.

Honestly, commercialism is the bane of O’Connell Street.

To think one of the most ornate buildings on the street is to become a dire Paddy Powers is perhaps the last straw.

And while Dublin City Council may waffle on and on about having little arbitary power as to the use of buildings on O’Connell Street, they have no excuse when it comes to shopfronts. Since the regeneration programme has been launched, Ann Summers have erected their corporate logo as their shop signage. The same has applied to Abrakebabra, Funland….etc. etc. etc. These shopfronts need planning permission, and as such they were granted by the corpo!!!
If anyone has been to Regent Street in London you will realise that all shopfronts have the same name typeset – and no corporate logos – to ensure uniformity and style. If this was applied to O’Connell Street it would be devoid of neon, plastic, yellow and red signs with a luvvely corp. logo attachment.

It belies all logic that such rubbish continues to proliferate on O’Connell Street.

i find this strong reaction kind of wierd, what’s so awfull about a bookies. sure, not everybody will use it, not everyone will use a high-end womens clothing shop or a shop selling mens perfume or a jewellers either and they are the things usually found on main streets. more than one or two bookies would be bad, and it will be bad if they make a mess of the building, or have a cheap sign or allow the street to be littered with torn up betting slips or cigarette butts and it would be nice if there was easy access to the main banking hall and if it wasn’t ruined with harsh lighting and a crap carpet, but there is nothing so shamefull about a bookies, well, i like to gamble myself and i’m not ashamed, just a bit foolish, well, my system will be working soon and then i won’t even be foolish, i think.

We are talking about the upgrading of O’Connell Street so if any form of gambling establishment were to be placed there I would prefer to see a Casino. (The one in Monaco comes to mind).
A Casino as opposed to a Bookies,
A Restaurent with a reputable inhouse renowned chef as opposed to a fast food outlet,
A 5 Star Hotel as opposed to a hostel,
A Department store as opposed to a Pound shop (aka Euroshop)
…………………..do you get the drift.
An air of sophistication and dignity is needed as a good basis for O’Connell Street, the people will add the colour and life.

the other good thing about a bookies is that it has tellers, so it would be a good vernacular use of a banking hall.

What a dull suggestion – “its good because it uses the existing counter/tellers” – a bar could use the existing counter/ tellers are any service provider.

As mentioned above there are things that would be more attractive on O’Connell Street than a bookies/sexshop/poundshop/hostel why not try to think world-class for the street and not just main street of anytown in Ireland

It just gets better and better !!! From today’s Indo:

“A judge yesterday gave the go-ahead for the first fully-fledged off-licences on Dublin’s O’Connell Street despite opposition from the city council, the gardai and business interests…”

“Mary Conway, city council project planner for O’Connell Street, said the existing use of the Centra premises was contrary to stated high value mixed-use objectives which the local authority was seeking. Converting part of them to full-scale off-licences would be a further intensification of this undesirable use…”

“Gerry Hynes, a director of the company which owns Flanagans the only non-fast food restaurant on O’Connell Street said problems caused by street drinking were even worse than gardai had outlined, as these were only instances of reported crime…”

Only ONE non-fast food restuarant ?!? For f#ck sake !!

Well done to the Judge , what an enlightened and cultured man………let’s hope this paves the way for the likes of the Utopia porno shop in Capel Street and that it expands and buys up Clery’s. We need a few more arcades there too, by the way, and a Man Utd or Liverpool FC shop. How about a drug rehabilatation centre as well as a few more Euro shops. That vacant site at the Carlton could be used as a scrapyard or a halting site………will they ever take those bloody stupid hoardings down so as the boys and girls can use it as a congregation hedge school for cider drinking. Forget about the Spire…that big hole they dug could be used as one big piss/shit hole for passers by, maybe preferably at night when everyone is sloshed and gunning for a fight…..Tourists can take part too. What a classy joint it would be eh. …and fuck all that O’Connell Street rejuvenation shit……the boys could use those auld trees for fire wood too…..as well as the crustys could make use of them as tree houses. Robinson Crusoe, Huckleberry Finn stuff on Ireland’s main thoroughfare. Classy eh!….what a great place.

GregF I sometimes worry that you might get an aneurism one of these days!!

I cant believe that they cant just pass byelaws to stipulate what kind of permises can exist on O’Connell Street.

I trhink its some “constitutional right” to allow citzens to make money legitimately (Dev knew f-all about how this would effect the aesthetics of O’Connell street though)