Over a decade after the Wood Quay controversy, the site and the civic offices that now stand there, are back on the public agenda. Dublin City Council is holding an architectural competition to complete the construction work at Wood Quay.
Original plans at Wood Quay were for four office blocks. However, only two of the Sam Stephenson designs were completed. Dublin City Council is now opening a competition for designs to complete construction on the site.
Sean Whelan spoke to councillors about "Wood Quay Part 2". News of the competition was met with general hostility by Dublin city councillors. The controversy of the late 1970's and early 1980's was a political nightmare and not something that any councillor wanted to experience again.
Dublin City Council has decided to hold an architectural competition for a scheme to complete the building work at the site on Wood Quay. The Dublin civic offices known to their critics as "the bunkers".
Fianna Fáil councillor Tom Stafford, recalls the protest marches in the city prior to the building of the civic offices and argues that nothing should be built on the remaining part of the Wood Quay site.
Labour Councillor Ruairi Quinn, says that the councillors have not seen the details of the proposed competition but points out that the planning committee will receive a full report on the matter within a fortnight.
Fine Gael Councillor Mary Flaherty, hopes that the competition will result in something which would cloak the present "ugly" buildings. Mary was prompted to enter politics over the original Wood Quay controversy and was never in favour of the civic offices being built at Wood Quay. Now, however, she wants to make the best of a bad thing.
Following an international competition architectural firm Scott Tallon Walker went on to win the competition to complete the next phase of the civic offices at Wood Quay.
Title: |
Wood Quay Architecture Competition |
Clip Duration: |
00:03:15 |
Material Type: |
Audio |
Clip Title: |
Architectural Competition to Complete "The Bunkers" |
Series Title: |
Morning Ireland |
Information: |
This episode of 'Morning Ireland' was broadcast on 8 September 1992. 'Morning Ireland' began on 5 November 1984. Broadcasting for one hour from 08.00 am the programme was replacing a music and chat format presented by Mike Murphy. 'Morning Ireland' was initially unpopular with the listeners and critics but would become Ireland's most listened to radio programme. David Davin Power and David Hanly were the programmes first presenters. 'Morning Ireland' is now broadcast on weekdays from 07.00 am to 09.00 am. The accompanying photograph shows architect Sam Stephenson at the Wood Quay site with two of the completed blocks and Christ Church in the background. This photograph was taken by Peter Harding during the filming of a documentary about Sam Stephenson called 'To Bed with Palladio, Rising with Lutyens' in July 1988. |
Local Keywords: |
Wood Quay, Archaeology, Vikings, Sam Stephenson, Architecture, Sean Whelan, Tom Stafford, Ruairi Quinn, Mary Flaherty, Competition |
Coverage: |
Ireland, Dublin |
Topic: |
Society and Social Issues |
Contributor(s): |
Sean Whelan (Reporter) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
First Broadcast Channel: |
RTÉ Radio One |
Broadcast Date: |
08/09/1992 |
Production Year: |
1992 |
Country of Production: |
Ireland |
Original Identifier: |
QCC012439 |
IPR Restrictions: |
Rights Reserved - Free Access |
Rights, Terms and Conditions: |
Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
Item Type: |
part/extract |
Sound: |
Mono |
Language: |
English (eng) |
