“One particular facet of living in Dublin city centre that I’ve always found hard to stomach is the persistence of abandoned buildings, which could benefit their surrounding areas.”
One particular facet of living in Dublin city centre that I’ve always found hard to stomach is the persistence of abandoned buildings, which could benefit their surrounding areas.
These spaces have effectively been “crossed out” of existence. The issue, driven by greed, legislative inefficiency and bureaucratic failure, has led, in the worst cases, to the utter deterioration of historic landmarks, such as the Iveagh Markets and the Royal City of Dublin Hospital. Despite sporadic positive efforts like the proposed Fruit and Vegetable Market refurbishment, the problem remains, revealing a skewed balance between community welfare and private interests.
My name is Gavin O’Brien and I am a graphic designer and visual artist based in Dublin. I create collage illustrations for posters, albums and the odd book. If you have a suitable project and would like to hire me, I can be contacted via gavinobrien.ie or instagram.com/_gavinobrien_.
The current owner recently got planning permission to knock the old pub, and build 10 homes on the site.
"In the illustration, we can see Micheál Martin and Simon Harris bow before the behemoth that is Big Tech."
Dublin City Council's planning committee backed a motion on Monday to call on the Minister for Housing to broaden the legal definition to include long-term vacancy.
Reviving 114 to 116 Capel Street is part of the council’s wider effort to meet recommendations around tackling vacancy made by the Dublin City Taskforce, a council spokesperson said.
