Dublin city councillors say outreach about the major project has been to residents in the Fingal County Council area – leaving locals in affected city neighbourhoods, such as Finglas, without a proper voice.
When writers produce material that incorporates or is influenced by their own working-class background, it seems they still face an uphill battle to be recognised, writes Daniel Seery.
But the damage has been done, says Fianna Fáil Councillor Paul McAulliffe. “I’m worried about the chilling effect this will have on investment,” he says.
Local residents are sceptical, wondering why the old shopping centre can’t be revived instead, and remembering all the false promises they’ve been given in the past.
This documentary weaves together candid footage and interviews to build up a story of the regeneration, exploring what was lost as the towers came down.
As Ballymun Town Centre has withered away, it has left area residents with few places to buy basics. Should Dublin City Council just build a shopping centre there itself?
Three-bedrooom houses in Dublin should ideally be at least 100 sqm, a standard the council held an Ailesbury Rd development to in September. But smaller homes are apparently okay in Poppintree, for rapid-build houses, for homeless families.
A selection of Seamus Kelly’s photographs from a decade of publishing the “Ballymun Concrete News” are on display at Axis: Ballymun until the end of March.
On Monday, small groups stopped to say goodbye to the last of the Ballymun’s iconic towers, Joseph Plunkett. On Tuesday late afternoon, engineers began to demolish it.
