High Court judge visits Fatima Mansions

A High Court judge who said he was "haunted" by the conditions of the "cruelly named Fatima Mansions", yesterday visited the condemned south inner city flat complex.

Mr Justice Paul Carney was invited by the Fatima Regeneration Board following comments he made about the area during sentencing in a manslaughter trial last March.

Anthony Burke (35), Clancarty Road, Donnycarney, Dublin, received a five-year suspended sentence for the manslaughter of former All-Ireland boxing champion Joseph Sutcliffe (32) of Fatima Mansions.

Before sentencing, Mr Justice Carney said his own defences were "broken down" by the evidence relating to the conditions under which the residents of Fatima Mansions lived.

Finbarr Flood, chairman of the regeneration board, said yesterday that he had invited Mr Justice Carney to view the progress of redevelopment of the complex and the community since Mr Sutcliffe's death in October 2002.

"On the basis of the comments he made, we felt we would welcome the opportunity to show Justice Carney what was happening now and how things were moving forward.

"People felt they wanted to represent the changes that were taking place."

As well as building new housing, which will begin to be occupied from next September, complete social regeneration was taking place with the development of homework clubs, creches and other facilities, Mr Flood said.

Mr Justice Carney spent an hour at the complex yesterday, visiting the current and new facilities. The ongoing regeneration was "very impressive", he said.

"I was really haunted by a lot of the evidence given in this case, and what upset me predominantly was the evidence given by the residents of the flat complex themselves.

"It is wonderful to see that there is regeneration taking place," the judge said.

A spokesman for the residents' associations, Joe Donohoe, said the community was not angered by Mr Justice Carney's remarks, but wanted to give him an accurate picture of how the area was progressing.

"We've shown him what's going on and hopefully he can see how positive it is and that things are changing for the better - that we're creating a safe and stable community."

Mr Justice Carney has accepted an invitation to return for the opening of the new houses in September.