Sir, – The decision of Dublin City Council’s planning department to grant permission for the conversion of 15 Usher’s Island into a “tourist hostel” is most misguided and regrettable.
The house is of course the setting for James Joyce’s most famous short story, “The Dead”. His maternal grand-aunts lived and taught music there, as do the Misses Morkan in the story. The house is also described briefly, but evocatively, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
Many features of the house as it was in the Joycean period remain intact. They will not survive this conversion, which is bound to damage the character of the building, probably irrevocably.
The dropping of plans for a new extension at the rear, in response to an earlier refusal of permission, does nothing to mitigate the destruction that will be wrought on the interior of the existing building.
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Dublin is rightly proud of its links with famous writers, and was designated as the fourth Unesco City of Literature in 2019. Bloomsday is celebrated annually by increasing numbers of Dubliners and visitors to Dublin.
Opened on Bloomsday in 2003, the James Joyce Bridge links Usher’s Island to Blackhall Place and the location was chosen because of its links to “The Dead”.
Where is the vision that inspired planners in 2003?
The Department of Heritage, the Heritage Council, An Taisce, and the Irish Georgian Society have all made clear their opposition to the proposals, as have many leading contemporary Irish writers.
Uses that would be more in keeping with the house’s history and literary importance, such as a visitor centre, are certainly feasible and should be explored as an alternative to the current unsuitable project. – Yours, etc,
ANTHONY ARMSTRONG,
Chairman,
JOHN DREDGE,
Secretary,
VIVIEN IGOE,
TERENCE KILLEEN,
ROBERT NICHOLSON,
PAUL O’HANRAHAN,
(Members of the
James Joyce Institute
of Ireland),
North Great George’s Street,
Dublin 1.