As the 100 year anniversary of the Easter Rising appears on the horizon, plans for the future of the GPO has been revealed - is it any suprise that retail may play a part?
I am not opposed to the concept of transforming the use of this historical public space. The conservative in me do wish it be maintained and used as it has been: to do 'exactly what it says on the tin' as it were. However, think tank visions of development with a mix of museums, galleries, restaurants and shops around the inner courtyard, covered by a glass roofing, and with a number of performance areas could be the saviour of O' Connell Street, itself a centre of much needed rejuvenation (even if it did mean the removal of those old trees and that old floozy in favour of a large metallic structure and little saplings).
The idea of being tempted into the GPO by the sound of some talented musician and to sit and people watch with a coffee or with a beer in one of McDowell’s beloved 'European-style' bars is very inviting. The removal of the Post-office counters can be sacrificed for this greater good; it may even mean the closure of the grotty GPO arcade around the corner on Henry Street. Noel Ahern, who is party to the discussions, is even quoted as being in favour of using the space beyond 'dawn to dusk' and create a facility for Dubliners and tourists well into the night - Champs Elysee on the north side is nothing to be snuffed. The names attached to these discussions (Foster& Partners, the London Architect behind London's City Hall and Millennium bridge as well as New York’s new World Trade Centre) is encouraging, only two elements strikes fear in me; 'shops' and 'apartments'.
Why must such a significant place in the nation be subject to 'upmarket' living quarters? The site is public and every centimetre of that should remain so. The near-by derelict Carlton Cinema does not hold the same significance and, failing The Abbey Theatre's successful acquisition of the site as a new, bigger and better National Theatre, then a retail/accommodation mix is not objectionable - but to scar the GPO with "charmingly proportioned 1-beds" and "spacious, luxurious penthouses in one of the nation's most desired locations" is a sin worthy of the death penalty (perhaps held in Kilmainham Gaol in a painful irony of previous events on the same site).
Retail space is a reality in a commercial city but to put a single chain store or convenience store in the GPO would be do deaden the idea of redevelopment; careful thought and even bias should prevail when handing the keys to the shopkeepers. O'Connell Street, Henry Street and Mary Street is already flooded with cheap stores, minimarkets, high street fashion chains and fast-food joints - they have no place in the GPO. Dublin City Council in their (delayed) wisdom has applied the brakes onGrafton Street by carefully reviewing any plans for yet another Spar or mobile phone shop. A little late but a positive move to ensure that the reason for pedestrianising the street and creating it as a location to view the stars from the eighties humble position of the gutter is justified.
It may appear to be snobbery, and to some degree it is but careful sculpturing of the Irish capital is essential to maintain its dignity and to shed any grotty image. Like all cities, certain thoroughfares are how a city, its people and its country is judged by outsiders and can provide inspiration for how a community conducts itself: to pack the GPO, the scene of the single most seminal moment in the nations history with a Supermacs, Centra, Penneys and Cinema below a living space with either lavish surrounds or room to swing a cat would not only be a mistake, it would be a disaster.
I am not opposed to the concept of transforming the use of this historical public space. The conservative in me do wish it be maintained and used as it has been: to do 'exactly what it says on the tin' as it were. However, think tank visions of development with a mix of museums, galleries, restaurants and shops around the inner courtyard, covered by a glass roofing, and with a number of performance areas could be the saviour of O' Connell Street, itself a centre of much needed rejuvenation (even if it did mean the removal of those old trees and that old floozy in favour of a large metallic structure and little saplings).
The idea of being tempted into the GPO by the sound of some talented musician and to sit and people watch with a coffee or with a beer in one of McDowell’s beloved 'European-style' bars is very inviting. The removal of the Post-office counters can be sacrificed for this greater good; it may even mean the closure of the grotty GPO arcade around the corner on Henry Street. Noel Ahern, who is party to the discussions, is even quoted as being in favour of using the space beyond 'dawn to dusk' and create a facility for Dubliners and tourists well into the night - Champs Elysee on the north side is nothing to be snuffed. The names attached to these discussions (Foster& Partners, the London Architect behind London's City Hall and Millennium bridge as well as New York’s new World Trade Centre) is encouraging, only two elements strikes fear in me; 'shops' and 'apartments'.
Why must such a significant place in the nation be subject to 'upmarket' living quarters? The site is public and every centimetre of that should remain so. The near-by derelict Carlton Cinema does not hold the same significance and, failing The Abbey Theatre's successful acquisition of the site as a new, bigger and better National Theatre, then a retail/accommodation mix is not objectionable - but to scar the GPO with "charmingly proportioned 1-beds" and "spacious, luxurious penthouses in one of the nation's most desired locations" is a sin worthy of the death penalty (perhaps held in Kilmainham Gaol in a painful irony of previous events on the same site).
Retail space is a reality in a commercial city but to put a single chain store or convenience store in the GPO would be do deaden the idea of redevelopment; careful thought and even bias should prevail when handing the keys to the shopkeepers. O'Connell Street, Henry Street and Mary Street is already flooded with cheap stores, minimarkets, high street fashion chains and fast-food joints - they have no place in the GPO. Dublin City Council in their (delayed) wisdom has applied the brakes onGrafton Street by carefully reviewing any plans for yet another Spar or mobile phone shop. A little late but a positive move to ensure that the reason for pedestrianising the street and creating it as a location to view the stars from the eighties humble position of the gutter is justified.
It may appear to be snobbery, and to some degree it is but careful sculpturing of the Irish capital is essential to maintain its dignity and to shed any grotty image. Like all cities, certain thoroughfares are how a city, its people and its country is judged by outsiders and can provide inspiration for how a community conducts itself: to pack the GPO, the scene of the single most seminal moment in the nations history with a Supermacs, Centra, Penneys and Cinema below a living space with either lavish surrounds or room to swing a cat would not only be a mistake, it would be a disaster.
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