Environment

Raze or praise: Should we save the Poolbeg chimneys?

ESB to decide by the end of the year whether Sandymount landmark will be demolished

The ESB will decide by the end of the year whether to knock down Dublin's famous Poolbeg chimneys. We asked passersby on Sandymount Strand if they would like to see them saved.

Fiach Kelly
Fri Jul 11 2014 - 01:00

The ESB has warned it may not "be possible at all" to leave the famous Poolbeg chimneys in Dublin standing, and will decide by the end of the year whether to knock them down.

ESB chief executive Pat O’Doherty said carrying out the structural and repair works needed to keep the 680ft high twin stacks may not be the best use of resources.

The old power station in Poolbeg ceased operation in 2010 and, in a letter to Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar, Mr O'Doherty said a review of the site, currently under way, will be completed by the end of the year.

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The chimneys of the ESB Poolbeg Station from Sandymount Strand Dublin. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien/The Irish Times

Mr Varadkar wrote to Mr O’Doherty expressing concern about the state of the towers and suggested “money used for upgrading these iconic symbols of our city would be well spent, both for Dubliner and visitor alike”.

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In response, Mr O’Doherty said “some view their 40-year presence on the Dublin skyline as iconic; others as a blight on the landscape”.

What do you think? Are they iconic or an eyesore? Should they be razed or praised?

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