Archbishop Dermot Ryan blesses new houses on City Quay in Dublin.
After 11 years of campaigning by the Save City Quay Parish Committee, 41 new Dublin Corporation homes are finally completed. The three and four bedroom homes cost £27,000 each.
Tenants of the new homes gathered for the blessing of the houses by Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Ryan. The archbishop told the residents the houses were a testimony to their faith in the future of a living community in the area.
Behind the homes lies a wasteland which the committee says will be developed next year providing a further 80 new homes.
The campaign for housing is being led by people who have their roots in the City Quay area.
They say they want all of the nine and a half acres of derelict inner city land to be transformed into cosy homes like these blessed today.
The committee argues that any new accommodation should be allocated to people whose families come from the area.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 20 December 1980. The reporter is Kate Smith.
