Screen cliches of urban decay `are stigmatising'

Cinematic use of symbols such as the Ballymun towers to convey urban decay and social inequality are cynical gestures which offend the people who live there, the Parnell Summer School in Co Wicklow was told yesterday.

Delivering her lecture entitled "The Address . . . Geography as a History Lesson of Dublin", Ms Orla Ryan of Napier University, Edinburgh, used clips from recent well-known films made in Ireland to illustrate how the stacks of the Pigeon House were used to convey urban life. Other examples included the DART crossing the loop-line bridge, Liberty Hall and the Ballymun towers, used in films such as The Van, The Commitments, The General and Family.

She argued that many of the story-lines in films could have been set in the sprawling estates of Tallaght, Clondalkin, Blanchards town or Swords but Ballymun was always used to convey urban neglect.

Ballymun was used in Into the West to depict the socially blighted area where one of the main protagonists lived. The countryside was depicted by a field with a ruined tower, showing it was not just urban symbols which were stigmatised.

Ms Ryan said the TV series Family, with a screenplay by Roddy Doyle, had been among those found most offensive by the people of Ballymun. While the film had been of some use to Women's Aid in highlighting violence against women, its implied associations had deeply hurt the locals.

Quoting from locals, Ms Ryan said the film crew dumped burnt-out cars, old washing machines and litter. Graffiti was specially sprayed in the area for the film and a smart fitted kitchen was ripped out and replaced by Charlo and Paula's tip of a room, she said.

"What Roddy Doyle does not engage with is the community groups in Ballymun which could assist someone like Paula. This in effect refuses to recognise the important work done by groups such as the Ballymun Women's Resource Centre.

Ms Ryan also questioned the proposed demolition of the Ballymun towers. "This is not to suggest that the people of Ballymun should not get the type of housing which they require but . . . just when high-rise living is to be blamed for all the social problems caused by institutional neglect, we have the completion of the Millennium Tower right in the heart of the city.

"Not to be confused with `flats', these are `penthouses' and `apartments' for the elite."

"Of course," she added, "it would be the ultimate irony if in years to come, with the Ballymun towers demolished, the Millennium Tower was to be used as a suitable film location to represent Ballymun - made up, of course, with the appropriate graffiti, burnt-out cars, broken dishwashers and animals in the lift."

Yesterday's summer school also heard a lively session on local government chaired by Frank McDonald of The Irish Times. Today's session will include an address on Parnell and his time by Mr Frank Callanan SC, and a symposium on local communities and planning.