A chara, With reference to John Ducie's letter of July 15th and that of Daithi P. Hanly of July 24th, the 18 voluntary and community based organisations of An Foram Oidhreachta (Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown Heritage Forum) share their deep concern for the protection and preservation of Dun Laoghaire's unique architectural heritage.
Should the Pavilion Gardens, designed to be the central square of the Victorian town, follow other gems of 18th and 19th century architecture sacrificed in the name of "development", it is clear that nothing has changed in Dun Laoghaire over the past thirty years. Indeed, can any other town in Ireland provide such a depressing list of buildings lost to insensitive town planning? It includes 18th century houses such as Frascati (1740), Rosefield, Dawson Court, Cherbury, Corrig Castle, Ballinclea and 19th century ones such as Sans Souci, Maretimo Trimbleston, Rockville, The Slopes, Grosvenor, Tivoli, Highthorn, Corrig, Crosthwaite Hall, Beaufort, Balygihen, St Helens, Valetta, and many others totally unique in style.
Some, like Glenageary House in Sallynoggin (townland of Thomastown), had fine native woodlands surrounding the building, all to be replaced by very mediocre concrete housing estates and block like office buildings. Was it necessary to scar our once beautiftul main street by the prison like facade of the shopping centre and to demolish an early 9th century terrace of imposing town houses (Gresham Terrace) to provide a multi storey car park to the rear of the shopping centre?
Surely, heritage sites and buildings need not be viewed as an expendable feature in Irish town planning. Indeed, has not Ireland the imagination and creativity amongst its architects and town planners to enable us both to preserve our built heritage and to provide for housing and commercial development? To quote Manning Robertson (1936): "We have not inherited the environment from our fathers, we have only, borrowed it from our children - a point that should be noted by our town planners. - Mise le meas,
Cathaoirleach,
An Foram Oidhreachta,
14 Rochestown Park,
Dun Laoghaire.