Emmet site may be sold to developers

On the 200th anniversary of the death of Robert Emmet, Dublin City Council is to sell off a landmark site in Kilmainham which was earmarked for a monument to the hanged patriot.

An Taisce has condemned the council's decision to sell the site on the junction of Emmet Road and the South Circular Road for residential development, saying it breaches the council's plans for a heritage centre. It accused the council of "subjugating heritage to private gain" and said it was ironic the site was being sold on the bicentenary of Emmet's death.

A spokesman, Mr Ruadhán Mac Eoin, said the council appeared to have a new policy of selling off public property to the detriment of local communities. He cited the disposal of a variety of sites throughout the city currently under way. The council defended the sale, saying the proceeds would be ploughed back into the area. There was no funding for the heritage centre and its sustainability was in question, according to Mr Gerry Folan, manager of the local Integrated Area Plan. He said building tax reliefs ran out in June. "The door was still not closed" on any heritage proposal.

Although the Kilmainham site is zoned Z9 for recreational amenity and open space uses, the conditions of sale envisage the construction of a four-storey residential block with shops at ground level. The council had planned to build a heritage/tourist centre on the site, which has lain derelict for more than 10 years. Thousands of tourists visit Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish Museum of Modern Art and other local attractions every day. It also agreed to incorporate in the centre a plaque commemorating Emmet and the leaders of the 1798 rising.

The late Fine Gael TD Mr Jim Mitchell tabled a motion at the council's planning committee which called for the site to be used as the location of a memorial commemorating the 1798, 1803 and 1916 risings. Mr Mitchell said it was located on Emmet Road and was 100 yards from Kilmainham Gaol, where many of the 1916 patriots were executed.

Local resident Mr Michael O'Flanagan, who has campaigned for the memorial, said Robert Emmet would have passed the site as he was being taken from the gaol to his execution in front of St Catherine's church in Thomas Street.

"Sites such as this are few and far between in Dublin and rarely come up for development," he said. "In any other capital city, it would be used to enhance the ethos of the city as a whole and not be sold off to the highest bidder. Anybody who has any pride in the city of Dublin and who has any influence should strive to stop this site being developed as another set of little shoe-box apartments."

A number of substantial bids have been received for the site; these will be considered by the council next month.