Sir, - The decision by the board of the Abbey Theatre to move from the city centre to the docklands is one that must not be tolerated.
However, the arguments put up by those opposed to the move are missing the main objections. These have nothing to do with the old northside/south side jokes. The main divisions in the city are now east/west. The wealthy east coast gets all the attention while the working-class west side, where there has been huge population growth, is forgotten.
The original DART plan was intended for all railways coming into the city - i.e., three on the west side and one on the east coast. The one on the east was built and is up and running for nearly two decades while the Blanchardstown line, the Ballyfermot/Clondalkin line or the spur to Tallaght have not been touched. Surely one of the primary functions of a theatre is to be accessible to its audience. Is the Abbey's audience to be merely from the east coast? Why must we in the west get a bus into town and a taxi to the national theatre a further mile east?
The other major argument against such a move is that the national theatre should remain in the cultural heart of the city. This is the golden mile from Parnell Square to Merrion Square and St Stephen's Green. If the space at the existing site is inadequate, it should move to the new development taking place in Upper O'Connell Street and connecting to Moore Street and Henry Street. I am quite sure the developers of this huge site would be delighted to accommodate such a major prize as the world famous Abbey Theatre. Here it would be close to that other famous Dublin Theatre, the Gate of Lord Longford and Edwards/ MacLiamoir fame, and also the Ambassador Rotunda, birthplace of Grattan's volunteers and wide open for cultural development.
At the top of Parnell Square is the magnificent Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery with the Dublin Writers' Museum on one side and the Dublin Wax Museum on the other, while just to the east is the James Joyce Centre in North Great George's Street. Then you have the great sweep through the economic and cultural heart of Dublin through O'Connell Street, College Green, Grafton Street to St Stephen's Green and on the left, the National Gallery, National Library and National Museum plus the Mansion House and the almost unknown Treasury of the Royal Irish Academy.
Whether you are aged seven or 70, you can walk this golden mile and have no shortage of places to eat and drink on the way. The National Theatre must remain in the economic and cultural heart of the city with access available to all - north, south, east and west. - Yours, etc,
Tomas Mac Giolla, St Laurence's Road, Chapelizod, Dublin 20.