Lights out in public buildings as climate change event offers glimmer of hope

PUBLIC BUILDINGS and national monuments across the Republic fell into darkness for one hour on Saturday evening as part of Earth Hour, a global initiative which aims to highlight the issue of climate change.

Lights were switched off at some of the country’s best-known landmarks, from the Rock of Cashel to Trim Castle, while public buildings including the Four Courts and the Houses of the Oireachtas descended into darkness.

Homes and businesses were also encouraged to take part in the event. The first Earth Hour took place in Sydney in 2007. Since then the initiative has gained widespread support around the world, with over 120 countries taking part this year.

Chatham Islands, an archipelago in the Pacific, was the first country to switch off its lights on Saturday evening. As the sun moved across the Earth’s longitudes, the cities it left behind dimmed their lights, with some of the world’s most iconic buildings, from Sydney Opera House to the Pyramids at Giza descending into darkness.

So how did Ireland compare? In Dublin, the main State buildings switched off their lights to mark the event, though on the capital’s city-centre streets, there was little evidence of much engagement by shops, bars or restaurants.

Some areas of the city did enter into the spirit of things, however . The Dublin Docklands Development Authority, which has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late, will be pleased to know that it managed to save on electricity on Saturday night. There was not a light to be seen on the northside of the docks, with the empty shell of the ill-fated unfinished Anglo Irish Bank headquarters looming darkly over the river.

Across the Liffey on the south docks it was a different story. The sparkling new Grand Canal Theatre seemed determined to proudly display its new facade, despite Earth Hour.

The theatre and its grounds were swathed in bold modern lighting effects, though it faced competition from the office buildings which flanked it on either side, both of which displayed mammoth flashing signs advertising commercial offices to let.

In Waterford, Ireland’s Earth Hour efforts were dealt a blow, as Green Party leader John Gormley – long one of the country’s biggest champions of the initiative – decided to proceed with his televised address which coincided with Earth Hour.

However, Mr Gormley addressed the nation in muted lighting. Back in Dublin along the Liffey, the city – illuminated by the near full moon – seemed eerily subdued, with the iconic riverfront buildings missing from the skyline.

At 9.30pm, the lights gradually flickered back on, and the shadowy buildings once more took their place along the river.