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Sorry, you’re right – it’s bulb. I passed it at speed in my car. My point was that it was a film, however, which I think is correct.

It must be to do with the film because they put up a new neon sign on the Ambassador as well and were filming there on Tuesday night. The film name on the Ambassador was Spicey World if that means anything to anyone. I can’t remember what the neon sign was calling the Ambassador. I can only assume that the Carlton is also being used for the same purpose

The £1 billion cost for the Stadium Ireland project was very significantly exaggerated in the first place.
And it must be remembered includes the relocation of the State Laboratories, estimated at £140 million plus, the redevelopment of the existing infrastructure, the provision of a rail station at Abbotstown on the existing Maynooth train link, a 50-metre swimming pool, landscaped gardens over a vast area, huge amounts of office space and so on ad nauseum. The stadium itself would cost nowhere near the magical figures being put across by both the newspapers and opposition parties.
Also, most of the stadia in the Far East are of capacity between 40,000 to 60,000. The cost rises exponentially according to size and Stadium Ireland was supposed to be 80,000 though that will almost certainly be scaled down very significantly as part of the FF/PD negotiations.
I’d also be curious to know how much difference our inflated construction costs would make. I’m almost sure it would be cheaper to build a major project in Korea, but doubt that this would be the case in Japan.
I think crucially it is worth remembering that the stadium itself has never been put out to tender. There is no design, only a concept picture used by the management company. The tendering process would be the only true indicator of what we are actually talking about in terms of cost.

I wasn’t referring to any political view. My point was that I don’t think an illegal encampment should be of huge concern when drawing up a major urban regeneration plan, no more than if there were a hundred squatters living in an old shed in the middle of it. By all means, decent alternative accomodation should be provided for travellers and if at all possible close to where they had been, if they have a strong historical link with the area. I just don’t think it should be a primary or even secondary consideration.

Hey, Mr Crawford. You seem to know a lot about the goings on in Harland and Wolff. If poss, could you e-mail me at blah@blah.com
I want to get in touch with you directly, if that would be ok.

I used to work in Park House and although I wouldn’t say it is Dublin’s most attractive building, it certainly doesn’t deserve its places amongst the worst. As a building to work in, it was fantastic and the views from it are excellent. I also think it’s slightly coppered weatherbeaten look has actually improved it with age. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s not the worst example of that era by a long shot.

Cool monkeys on the Alliance Francaise building at the bottom of Kildare Street.

Isn’t it a Zoe development? And if so, it must be their best. Not saying it’s brilliant, but it’s not bad. It’s amazing though how quickly a building can fall into disrepair when it’s not in use. It looks shabby already and they’ll need to spruce it up good and proper before they open it.

As a PS, does anyone know where I could find a model or drawing of the new building beside what was Keating’s Pub on Jervis Street. It’s very tall and looks like another Lego brick job. Considering, there’s going to be the new street connecting on to the Millennium bridge, more thought should have been put into it.

What about top ten lists genuine and modern Irish pubs. It would save the writers in the Sunday Tribune compiling their own Baggot-Street centred version.

Mr James. I think you really need to hop off your high horse. This website may not aspire to your high intellectual ideals, but it has done more to encourage interest in architecture and conservation than An Taisce ever has. Unfortunately for you, everybody here doesn’t have a degree in architecture and isn’t a member of a right-on lobby group. But surely bringing architecture to a wider audience is worthwhile in itself. Look at the amount of comments written here and ask yourself whether any forum has ever generated as much public interest in these matters.
As a side point, a massive thank you to An Taisce for inflicting the dreadful Tara/Marckiviecz Street white triangle towers on us. That was a master stroke. You got rid of what would have been the finest tall buildings ever to grace the capital, and replaced it with yet more of your favourite pastiche. Funny the way An Taisce never stand up and admit how wrong they got it there.