Call for revival of O’Connell Street as closure of Clerys marked

The third anniversary of the closure of Clerys department store has been marked in Dublin by a group that hopes to revive the fortunes of O'Connell Street.

At 1pm on Tuesday members of the O’Connell Street Revival Society lit candles and laid a bouquet of flowers outside the main door of the empty building in an attempt to remind the public that the once busy store is lying vacant three years after being shuttered.

"This is one of the most beautiful buildings in Dublin and while they have great plans for it, nothing is happening," said John Seery, the founder of the group.

Clerys was acquired, and controversially closed after 162 years in business, by the Natrium investment group in 2015.

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Dublin City Council in December 2016 granted planning permission for a mixed-use scheme on the site involving office space, retail units, leisure facilities and a boutique hotel.

“We don’t want it to end up like the Carlton (Cinema) site. They had similar plans for that and it’s been vacant for over 20 years,” Mr Seery said.

Idle

The Carlton site on Upper O’Connell Street has remained largely idle since the cinema closed in 1994.

Hammerson, the developer behind Dundrum Town Centre, has plans to develop the site as a shopping centre but construction has not yet started.

“O’Connell Street is the heart of Dublin and its main street, but more and more buildings are lying vacant here and it just feels wrong,” Mr Seery added. “The footfall is still there but unfortunately it’s mostly from people on their way to other areas...It’s very disappointing.”

He said the society was set up two months ago by locals living or working near O’Connell Street who have a “deep concern” for the street’s fortunes.

The society says it would like to work with Dublin City Council to try to revitalise the city’s main thoroughfare.

“People walking by Clerys this afternoon will notice our memorial and hopefully realise how long it’s actually been since the closure,” Mr Seery said. “A lot of people have things to say about O’Connell Street and those people should get involved. People should start demanding a stake in our street.”