Demolition of Project Arts Centre in Dublin is underway.
The Project Arts Centre premises at Temple Bar are being demolished to make way for a new venue on the same site. The Project Arts Centre closed in February 1998, 24 years after opening as a theatre and exhibition space for the arts.
Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey, wielded the hammer as the demolition began.
A new Project building will rise in its place housing two theatre venues, an exhibition space, roof garden, café and bar.
The redevelopment comes at a cost of £3 million.
The Project Arts Centre has been graced by many great performers through the years including Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, Jim Sheridan, U2, and Alan Stanford. Alan Stanford shared his recollections with RTÉ News of his time at the Project and how it has provided a platform for the arts.
It was a place where artists had the right to come, try new ideas, be original, be inventive.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 8 October 1998. The reporter is Colm Connolly.
