Noel

March 1998
REGENERATION NEWS
July/August 2002 Issue 25
I N S I D E
• Ballymun over
the years
• New Minister for
Housing -
Noel Ahern TD
• Community
Wardens
• Environmental
Actions
• Housing
Handovers
update
• Training for
construction
workers
• What’s New
HEALTH & SAFETY
If you see anything that you are
concerned about on the building
sites outside working hours please
contact Ballymun Gardaí at
6664400
FINAL PHASE OF
CIVIC BUILDINGS
NOW UNDERWAY
Noel Ahern TD, Minister of State at the Department of the
Environment and Local Government, recently performed the
'topping out' ceremony for the Civic Buildings. Construction
of the shell and core is expected to be completed by the end of this
year. Eventually over 500 people will work there and they will begin to
occupy the building in mid 2003, following a short fit-out period.
The extensive office space, 9 retail units and 52 apartments are being
built by Bennett Construction Ltd. The new €70 million Civic
Buildings will front onto Ballymun Main Street and the new plaza.
Bennett have secured commercial tenants for all 125,000 ft² of the
office space and have sold all 52 residential units from the plans. Only
a few of the nine retail units remain available.
Ballymun Civic Buildings will be served by either Luas or Metro lines
and office space has been reserved by Dublin City Council for a North
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West Area Headquarters, a new Motor Tax Office for
North Dublin and a Council Chamber for the
North West Area Committee. The Northern Area
Health Board will relocate its district offices to
Ballymun Civic Buildings and will provide a modern
new health centre on the site. Ballymun
Regeneration Ltd will also re-locate to new offices in
the building.
The mixed-use development, designed by BDP
Architects, will have a main building of four storeys
in height, dropping to three storeys to the south. A
large atrium, accessible from a Civic Plaza, forms
part of Ballymun's new Main Street frontage and
will contain exhibition space, a coffee shop and a
reception area. A mixed-use five-storey block
Civic Buildings Atrium
fronting Shangan Road will accommodate two retail
units and 52 private apartments. The development
will be served by a 110-space underground car park.
"The new Civic Buildings are a visible and exciting
signal of the rate of progress being made in shaping
the new town of Ballymun," said Ciarán Murray,
Managing Director, Ballymun Regeneration Ltd.
"The Main Street is a focal point for the overall
regeneration project and the Civic Buildings are very
important for the new town of Ballymun as they
send a clear message that the regeneration is about
more than rehousing people from the flat blocks."
Civic Building Topping Out Ceremony 21/6/02
After 13 years Dublin City Council and the
Northern Area Health Board will be the owners of a
fine civic building, procured through "sale and leaseback."
Under this arrangement the benefits of capital
allowances will be shared by the private and public
sectors through reduced rent payments for the public
sector tenants.
Community Wardens
During the summer holidays, local School
Wardens, community representatives and
others will assist Ballymun Regeneration's
Health & Safety team by patrolling the streets around
construction sites and alerting young people to the
dangers of construction sites. This initiative is being
carried out in close co-operation with An Garda
Síochána and Dublin City Council.
Representatives of Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, Dublin
City Council and local Gardaí recently attended a
conference on the success of Community Warden
Schemes internationally with a view to putting in place
permanent wardens on the streets to monitor
neighbourhood safety and security and provide
assistance to people. In Ireland, pilot community
wardens schemes carry out a number of related services
in relation to traffic, parking, litter, dog control and
road safety. In Ballymun this scheme is specifically
aimed at improving community safety and, in
particular, deterring young people from entering or
playing near construction sites.
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Bounty Hunters’ success goes from strength to strength
Local children are creating a recycling
revolution, and far exceeding expectations to
improve their area as part of a Global Action
Plan (GAP) Bounty Hunters competition. Since
February the 56 participants, aged 6 - 13, have
collected 15,000 plastic bottles, tin cans and
aluminium drinks cans from their homes and the
local area in Ballymun, which they bring to the
Community Recycling Centre in Shangan. The
young participants have personalised ID cards and
work in teams. They are awarded one point for each
piece of recycling they pick up from the streets and
monthly prizes are presented to the team that has the
most points.
part in keeping the neighbourhood tidy and see that
protecting their local environment can be fun and
rewarding. We would love to see similar activities in
other Dublin neighbourhoods. Generally, people
want to take action to protect their environment. It's
just a matter of developing appropriate outlets for
the childrens' enthusiasm and energy."
Ballymun Bounty Hunters Ciara Murphy (age 6) with her brother Andrew
Murphy (age 4).
The Bounty Hunters competition was established to
create an awareness of environmental issues and we
have had a brilliant response from local children, far
greater than anyone expected," said Simon Cocking
of GAP Ballymun. "The children are playing their
Laura Kellett (age 6), Erica Hedderman (age 6), Dylan Walsh (age 9) and Sarah
Hedderman (age 9).
The Bounty Hunters project is part of a wider
recycling campaign in Ballymun, which includes
Shangan Community Recycling Centre with its own
composting machine. These projects are funded by
Ballymun Regeneration Ltd and Dublin City
Council and are seen as a way of involving people in
direct actions to improve their area.
For further information about GAP programmes
for adults and children you can visit
www.ballymun.info or contact Simon Cocking at
GAP Ballymun, telephone 01-8625846.
Training for Construction Workers
Ballymun Regeneration is working with
Ballymun Job Centre and FÁS to design a
pilot Construction Workers' Training
Programme to help local people get jobs on the
regeneration construction sites.
Ballymun Regeneration is also working closely with
the contractors to ensure that their labour
requirements are met, and in particular, that
candidates have the necessary skills and experience to
be trained for skilled jobs in the future.
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400 Years of History
ACommunity Archive detailing the history of
Ballymun from 1600-2001 is now on display
in Ballymun Library. The comprehensive and
fascinating history is a result of detailed research
carried out by Dr Robert Somerville-Woodward. The
Archive, commissioned by Ballymun Regeneration
Ltd, comprises a two-volume Written History of
Ballymun from 1600-1960 and 1960-2001. A short
synopsis of the written history has also been provided
along with maps and images.
“We congratulate all of those involved in compiling
this excellent and comprehensive history of Ballymun
and we hope that the Community Archive will be a
living one, with further images and items being added
over time to reflect future events within this vibrant
and changing community," said Ciarán Murray,
Managing Director, Ballymun Regeneration.
“Ballymun's Community Archive is a model for other
communities who might also engage in recording
aspects of their history and I would encourage all
Ciarán Murray, Deirdre Ellis-King and Eileen Adams examining Maps and
Images from the Community Archive
Ellen O’Neill and her daughter Judith Ryan.
Dubliners, no matter where they live, to visit
Ballymun Library to study this excellent work," said
Deirdre Ellis-King, Dublin City Librarian, accepting
the Archive.
“We are most grateful to community groups and local
residents who donated photographs, articles and other
items of interest to the Community Archive and we
hope that they will continue to contribute to the
Archive over the coming years," said Dr Robert
Somerville-Woodward from Eneclann.
The Ballymun Community Archive is on display in
Ballymun Library from 10am-8pm Monday to
Thursday and from 10am-5pm on Friday and
Saturday. Copies of the Written History will be
available from the Ballymun Regeneration Ltd web
site and in time the synopsis will be available to local
people and schools. The web address is www.brl.ie
New Minister for Housing
Congratulations to Ballymun Regeneration
Board Member, Noel Ahern TD, who was
recently appointed Minister of State at the
Department of the Environment and Local
Government, with special responsibility for Housing
and Urban Renewal. We thank Noel for his
commitment and contribution to Ballymun
Regeneration over the years and wish him success
with his new responsibilities in Government. One of
his first official duties was the "topping out"
ceremony for the new Ballymun Civic Buildings.
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Contents of Ballymun Community Archive
· An Image Archive, containing maps, drawings and
newspaper articles sourced from libraries, archives,
community groups and residents. These images
provide a valuable insight into the local community
and their environs over the years, as well as
significant local and national events in the
community's history.
· A synopsis of the written history of Ballymun.
The Hellfire Club, c.1735 by James Worsdale (National Gallery of Ireland).
The Community Archive consists of:
· A two-volume Narrative History of Ballymun
covering the years 1600-1960 and 1960-2001. Dr
Robert Somerville-Woodward from Eneclann
researched and compiled this written history,
having consulted local and national sources,
including the National Archives and the National
Library. It will be available through Ballymun
Regeneration website (www.brl.ie).
Detail of Down Survey Map, Parish of Santry 1655.
Eneclann also worked with local residents to compile
an Oral History of Ballymun and preliminary work
from this project will be put on display, along with a
large selection of photographs and other images.
A new Ballymun Oral History Association has been
formed by local people who participated in the
original oral history project. NCI are providing
further training for people interested in increasing
their skills in the area of oral history. If you wish to
contact the Oral History Association, or want to
find out more about training, contact Ballymun
Regeneration Ltd at 01 8421144.
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Ballymun 400 years ago
Extract from Ballymun Community Archive :
The Ballymun flats were built in the late 1960s on
part of Santry Demesne and part of the farmlands of
Albert Agriculture College, now DCU. The first
volume of the Written History (1600-1960) deals
largely with the Barry family, who from the
beginning of the 17 th century until mid-way through
the 20 th century, owned much of Santry Demesne.
was not put on the map - almost literally - until the
arrival of the Barrys."
Santry Court
In 1702 Lord Henry, 3rd Baron Barry of Santry,
built Santry Court, "which soon gained a reputation
as 'the miniature palace of Versailles' due to the fine
murals on the walls and the large number of spacious
Santry Court, taken shortly before it’s demolition in 1947 (National Library of Ireland).
"The Barrys were a Protestant branch of the Cork
Barrymore family and they acquired the estate at
Santry by the beginning of the 17 th century, probably
shortly after it had been confiscated from the
Catholic Barnewall family in the 1620s. The estate
would remain largely intact and in their possession
until 1751 when Lord Henry, 4 th Baron Barry of
Santry died without a male heir. The patronage
exerted by this powerful, but short-lived dynasty was
felt in all walks of life in the parish. The Barrys and
their familial successors, the Domvilles, from the
mid-17 th century, built and maintained the churches,
schools, roads and many of the houses in Santry. As
the local justices of the peace the family also
administered the local law. This was in addition to
owning nearly all of the 4,700 acres of land. It has
been suggested, that although Santry was an old
medieval monastic site, the village and parish of
Santry did not begin to develop in earnest until the
Barry family began to take an economic interest in
their Santry Estate during the post-Cromwellian
period (1660s). Although not strictly true, Santry
apartments (rooms)." Santry Court, or Santry House
as it was sometimes known, was four storeys high in
the style of Queen Anne. The house was devastated
by fire in 1947 and was eventually demolished.
Santry Demesne
Santry Demesne is the name given to the walled
gardens, parks, woods and ornamental ponds
surrounding Santry Court. At the time of the Civil
Survey (1654-56) Santry Demesne was described as
250 acres of profitable land, consisting of 200 acres
of arable land, 20 acres of meadow, 14 acres of
pasture, 10 acres of shrubwood and 6 acres of ash
groves. In John Rocque's Map of County Dublin
Santry Demesne is clearly marked and the layout of
the formal gardens is well represented. In 1812 the
Santry Estate was comprehensively mapped. The
extent of the grounds, ornamentation and parkland is
clear from this excellent pen and ink map of which a
photographic reproduction is included in the
Ballymun Community Archive.
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What’s New
Breaking Ground, Ballymun's Per Cent for Art
scheme has completed the first stage of
commissioning. The Artistic Steering Committee,
which includes a number of experienced artists,
was very pleased and impressed with the level of
interest expressed by artists, and by local groups
interested in working with artists. Artistic
Director Aisling Prior, telephone 01-842 1144, is
the person to contact if you have any enquiries.
It is hoped that there will be opportunities and
interest from the private sector in providing
matching funding to increase the budget available
for Breaking Ground commissions, perhaps using
the tax schemes for artistic/cultural investment in
lieu of the payment of tax. This was recently used
to fund the purchase of a collection of original
James Joyce manuscripts for the State.
Participants at the It Takes Two international
summer school for urban regeneration in Holland
were impressed with all that was happening in
Ballymun. A steady influx of people is expected to
visit Ballymun to find out more about the project
on the ground.
The Ballymun Regeneration Project received a
merit award from the Stockholm Partnership for
Sustainable Cities recently at a ceremony attended
by the King of Sweden.
New and existing housing in Shangan.
Now that people are moving into their new homes
it is time to think about ways of making sure that
the people in the new housing and the existing
housing work together to create a better Ballymun
for the future. There are lots of ways in which
people can make a difference and if you want to
become involved Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, tel:
01 8421144, would like to hear from you to discuss
your ideas.
New Street Signs
The Transition Programme being prepared for
Phase 2 is due to commence in September 2002.
People moving into schemes which are already on
site will be contacted before then about dates and
times of meetings.
In the past Ballymun Regeneration Ltd have
organised Planning for Real and Street Naming
workshops. We would also like to see Residents
Associations being formed and people working
together to improve their areas through
environmental actions, tree planting, gardening
clubs, recycling or whatever is needed in the area. It
may be that people would like to be involved in
planting trees and learning more about landscaping.
There are also opportunities through the Breaking
Ground Art Project.
Ballymun Regeneration will be in Ballymun for
another few years and before the project is finished
we would like to see a strong network of community
groups and residents associations formed which will
help ensure that the regeneration of the area lasts
into the future and grows stronger as time goes by.
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New Housing Update
New homes in Sillogue
Ballymun Regeneration Ltd (BRL) Stormanstown House Ballymun Road Dublin 9
ph: 01 8421144 fax: 8421443 Web: www.brl.ie
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