Frank Gibney (1905-1978)

The architect and town planner Frank Gibney (1905-1978) was one of the most prolific housing designers of 20th century Ireland. Responsible for over five thousand local authority dwellings in every part of the country, his central concern was for human scale and good living standards and these two tenets delivered homes of a quality which is still evident today. His major work is his Bord na Mona (the Turf Cutting Board in those days) commissions. Between 1951 and 1958 he was asked to build more than 700 dwellings for workers and their families in locations across the Irish midlands, primarily in County Offaly.
In 1943 he proposed the very first physical plan for the entire island of Ireland, and he suggested the creation of a new ceremonial All Ireland capital to be known as ‘The Virgin City’ to be located north of Athlone on the banks of Lough Ree. He followed this with a plan for Dublin which proposed a new cultural and administrative centre in the Phoenix Park acting as a central transport hub for the expansion of the metropolis around seven new linked neighbourhoods.