Monuments to uncertainty (Part 1)

Father Matthew Hall, Church Street, Dublin 7

Case history:

Built at the turn of the century, this former temperance hall has a fine interior of the Celtic Revival period. The plasterwork depicts round towers, wolfhounds and two life-sized cailins. It was used for feiseanna and Gaelic League meetings - Dev is said to have met his wife Sinead there - and as a hospital in 1916.

"The plasterwork on the proscenium arch makes it a key building," says conservationist and author Peter Pearson. "It isn't listed, but the Corporation has the power to spot-list buildings. This should be done; otherwise it will disappear."

Current status:

The building is not in use. According to a spokesman for the owners, the Capuchins, the building was declared unsafe by their insurance company after a piece of the ceiling fell down. The decision on the future of the hall is currently being made. It may be sold, or used for community purposes. There is no intention to knock it down, but the Capuchins do not have the money required to restore the building.

St Alphonsus Chapel, Drumcondra, Dublin 9

Case history:

St Alphonsus chapel was designed by George Ashlin, in the late Norman Romanesque style. The interior is lavishly decorated with Bossi work - marble inlaid with coloured cements. The monastery of St Alphonsus was founded in 1859 for the Redemptoristine nuns, an enclosed contemplative order which recently sold the monastery, grounds and chapel to Shannon Homes Development. Part of the money was used by the order to build a new bungalow.

"We asked them to put a portion of the almost £8 million they received for the land to set up a fund for the proper treatment of the chapel, but they felt no obligation to do this. They took the organ and sold the chapel along with everything else," says Michael Smith, chairman of An Taisce. The new owners have made a planning application to build apartments on the site.

Current status:

St Alphonsus is a listed building, and Shannon Homes Development is seeking a buyer.

Katherine Tynan House, White Hall, Dublin 24

Case history:

Home of poet and novelist Katherine Tynan, this house was built as a model rus-in-urbe type farm, inspired by the likes of Versailles in France. Visitors to the Tynan home included Parnell and Michael Davitt, and many writers including Yeats, AE, Lady Gregory and Graham Greene. Built in the 18th century and added to in the 19th, Tynan's home was a miniature country estate with a gate lodge and cobbled stable yard. It is now situated in the green belt between Tallaght and Clondalkin and has been subjected to a lot of vandalism.

"The yard was interesting," says Peter Pearson. "It had built-in dovecotes and its own working forge. It was flattened overnight."

Current status:

The IRFU is the owner of the Tynan house. "A well-funded body at the heart of the establishment like the IRFU should take more responsibility," says Michael Smith. "They have let the house dilapidated and demolished the stable yard. They could have designed a plan for the site incorporating the house and yard." The IRFU's operations director, Martin Murphy, notes that the IRFU has spent £40,000 on the building, repairing the roof and boarding up the windows for security reasons: "We bought the building about five years ago, and it was in very poor condition then. The site had been used as a place for parties and drug-taking. The yard was where they congregated, and that's one of the reasons we knocked it down."

The IRFU bought the land with the idea of building a stadium, but that plan has changed with the Government commitment to a National Stadium. "We are not sure what we will do with the land now," says Murphy. "There is a preservation order on the house, so it will perhaps be incorporated into a new plan."

Presbyterian Church, Adelaide Road, Dublin 4

Case history:

Built in 1840, this is a large, two-tiered gallery church with a very rare early 19th-century interior in a simple Greek revival style. By the end of the century this decor had gone out of fashion and in many cases had been replaced by high Gothic. The church holds 850, but the current congregation is no more than 120. The church hall houses an unemployment counselling centre called Dolebusters.

Current status:

According to a spokesperson for the Adelaide Road/Donore Project Committee, they are waiting for a further decision from An Bord Pleanala for their proposal to retain the original facade of the church but demolish the rest, to be rebuilt for use as a place of worship on Sundays, and as a jobs resource centre and child care facility for the local community during the week. The building is in "some disrepair", and the Presbyterian Church feels this is the only alternative to selling the church and leaving the area altogether. An area to the rear of the church on Adelaide Road is to be sold for a proposed office block to subsidise the proposed demolition and rebuilding of the church, which, if given the go ahead, will start in the next few weeks, says Micheal Smith.

15 Usher's Island, Dublin 8

Case history:

This Georgian quayside house, built in the early 19th century, is the setting for Joyce's most famous short story, The Dead, and where John Huston's film of the story was made in 1987. The magnificent Persian-influenced fanlights, which feature in the film, were stolen from the house about five years ago and never recovered. The top floor has been removed from the house. An apartment block has been built at the rear.

Current status:

The house was owned by Terry Devey of Heritage Properties who had plans to restore it, but was unable to carry out the work. The new owner plans to carry out the restoration the house badly needs.