Intervention in the case of Iveagh Markets is a welcome development – Seery-Kearney

News that the Iveagh Markets has been reclaimed by its original owner could lead to a clear plan to restore the historic building and breathe life into the area, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Dublin South Central Senator Mary Seery-Kearney said, “I am delighted to hear the news that Lord Iveagh has taken possession of the Iveagh Markets building in Dublin 8.

“The beautiful Georgian style market building has been left derelict for nearly thirty years now.  Plans to redevelop it with a hotel, restaurant and market have lain gathering dust while the beautiful building fell into even deeper disrepair.

“Built under the Dublin Corporation Market Act 1901, it is my understanding that the building was leased back to Dublin Corporation, now Dublin City Council on a lease that obliged its use by the Council as a market. Lord Iveagh was entitled to take possession of it, and did so yesterday.

“The building was part of a development under the patronage of the first Earl of Iveagh, entitled the 1899 Dublin Improvements Act, begun in the 1890s with a view to improving public health, sanitation and civic order. This development included the public park at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the social housing buildings of the Iveagh Trust, a hostel for single men and the public baths. The benevolence of the Guinness Family in an area that has now become synonymous with the name of their famous porter, brought much needed housing and sanitation to an area once notorious for its slum dwellings.

“Patrick and Thomas Street are now known for their tourist sites, right beside Christchurch Cathedral, Dublinia and a short walk from the Guinness Storehouse one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.  The Iveagh Markets on the way to the Storehouse and would be the perfect location for the restoration of an artisan food market that tourists and locals can shop and enjoy street food under the cover of the shelter of the market, similar to markets in cities like Barcelona, or the English Market in Cork.  I would love to see it follow that model following a sensitive restoration, done in consultation with local residents.

“The people of the Liberties deserve to have life breathed into the beautiful Markets building, I hope that vision is brought to life by Lord Iveagh and an opportunity is seized to create employment in one of the oldest and most historic locations in our city,” Senator Seery-Kearney concluded.