Madam, – We recently had an enjoyable walk around the Phoenix Park, from the Wellington Testimonial to the Papal Cross, returning via the Magazine Fort. Unfortunately, a disgraceful sight awaited us at the fort. This historic building – built in 1735 – is being allowed to disintegrate. The outer walls are cracked and covered in wild flowers, numerous slates are missing from the roofs of the buildings and the main entrance and entrance gates are a particular disgrace, rusted, twisted metal, held together with a chain and padlock.
This building was/is probably regarded as a symbol of the occupation of Ireland, but so too for a long time was Kilmainham Jail, until a group of far-seeing volunteers decided to address its dereliction. It has since become a major tourist attraction.
With so many skilled people currently out of work, would it not be reasonable to suggest that some of them could be employed to perform the necessary renovation work on the fort? Surely any red-tape could be circumvented, to allow immediate and long-term benefits to the country? – Yours, etc,