This substantial, splendidly illustrated book could hardly have appeared at a more appropriate time, and a nice sense of battlefield humour attaches to its title. We can learn a great deal about the ills of the planning process in Dublin from this work. But it would be wrong to see it as just a guide through the sad and often evil happenings that are now being examined by the tribunals and in the media. The Construction of Dublin must be seen in the context of Frank McDonald's other publications, especially The Destruction of Dublin (1985), a pioneering study, and its companion, Saving the City (1989). These three books give an in-depth study of the successes and the many failures of planning and the use of resources in the capital city. Beside the good, there is the sleazy and the back-handers, which make the planning process rather like the era of Prohibition in the United States.
McDonald properly recognises the surge of life in the present-day city. He sees, in the activity and the return of more and more people to live in the inner city, the positive aspect of Dublin in the age of the Tiger. One must agree with this, while regretting the poor quality of many of the new apartment buildings which have been built, in terms both of architecture and of services. The restoration of public buildings - The Royal Exchange (The City Hall), sections of Dublin Castle, and of course the Custom House - help to give the new city a special quality. Some state bodies have done some good work but organisations like the Dublin Civic Trust have also brought new life to streets which were losing their residential character.
Not all the tiger's cubs are beautiful. The city has a development plan, but, when one looks at the provisions to make that plan work, one is dismayed. As McDonald puts it, "the choice facing us now is stark: either the capital continues to expand endlessly on its periphery . . . or we learn from the lessons of other European countries."
The grim, important story of transport in and about Dublin is a major theme for the author. The sad-faced cartoon of the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs Mary O'Rourke, sitting in her bath as she learns from the radio news that the chairman of CIE had resigned seems to sum up the whole situation. The confusion about whether Luas, the proposed tramway system, should be above or underground in the inner city, and the misery of the Port Tunnel are issues central to this book. I have read that Paris had to wait some 40 years before the decision was finally taken to build the Metro. Let us hope that political expediency will not triumph and that even at this late hour the advice of the experts will be taken and that Dublin will have an over-ground Luas system. The bus, the private car and the bicycle all have their place in a properly ordered transport world.
Especially in sections 4 and 5 of his book, McDonald shows a remarkable knowledge of the good and the bad in the world of planners and developers. Indeed we are faced with almost an embarrassment of names and character studies and photographs of the parties involved in planning and development. His analysis of the issues at stake in the tribunals and major planning controversies is essential reading for all who are concerned about the future of planning and of honesty in government. For so long, Irish politics, like the Catholic Church, seemed above reproach but now the history and character of Irish public life will have to be looked at again. It seems a far cry from the early days of the Irish Free State. In his three books, McDonald has given the student of contemporary history valuable aids to an understanding of our society.
One must hope that there will be further editions of The Construction of Dublin and that they will contain certain necessary aids to the reader. A list of abbreviations and acronyms would help a great deal, as well as a more detailed table of contents. These are small but necessary provisions in a book of this kind. The choice of illustrations is very extensive and reveals a dry sense of humour, in the sleek heads of developers and the designs of their architects. My favourite picture, on page 205, is a reminder of what can happen at a book launch.
Finally, the book is dedicated to the memory of Deirdre Kelly, who worked so hard to keep Dublin a place where people should be more important than developers' profits.
Kevin B. Nowlan is Professor Emeritus of Modern History at UCD, President of the Dublin Civic Trust and Vice-President of the Irish Georgian Society.