Dublin City Council will this evening debate a motion aimed at saving the recently closed Bewley's cafes in the capital.
The Labour Lord Mayor, Cllr Michael Conaghan, has tabled a motion that notes the significant architectural importance of the Bewley's buildings on Grafton Street and Westmoreland Street as well as the "integral importance" of their use as cafés.
Cllr Conaghan said: "The motion also calls on Dublin City Council to work with all interested parties to explore all options to create a context within which the cafés can continue to operate on a viable basis, preserving their unique role in the social, cultural, economic and architectural fabric of the city.
"The overwhelming message that I have been receiving from everywhere is that we must do all we can to save this important Dublin institution. . . . Dublin has a long way to come to protect its key landmark buildings, especially unique and loved ones as Bewley's."
Cllr Conaghan also called on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to establish a National Trust to protect such buildings.
He will meet representatives of the Bewley's company tomorrow to discuss the campaign.
The two cafés closed on November 30th amid great outpourings of emotion from the public and staff.
Members of the public queued in their hundreds to have a final coffee and sticky bun in the historic cafés. Cutlery and mugs with the Bewley's logo disappeared from the cafés as those eager to keep souvenirs spirited them away in coat pockets and handbags.
The company insisted it had to close the two loss-making cafés because it was no longer viable to subsidise them heavily from other areas of the Bewley's business empire.
In addition, customers had deserted Bewley's in their droves in recent years as takeaway coffee outlets popped up across the city. Bewley's was also criticised for the decline in quality of the food offered at the two cafés.