As the Dubs would say “What’s the craic?”
As I went abroad for my last two blog entries, I decided to stay a bit closer to home for my last blog post; I decided to stay in my hometown of Dublin, so I have not venture too far at all for this blog entry. I will use my own photos which were taken in November 2014 to examine the regeneration which has occurred in the Docklands in Dublin City.
Katie McKay | 112417258
Image 1.1: Grand Canal Docks sign.
Dublin which is situated on the east coast of Ireland is the capital of the Republic of Ireland and it is Ireland’s largest city (visitdublin.com). For more than two hundred years, the Docklands area was dominated by working class people because of the thriving port and the employment that it provided. As a consequence of containerization in the late twentieth century employment in port-handling activities declined dramatically and a number of traditional industries (for example warehouses and flour mills) in the area were also forced to close (Dublin Docklands Development Authority Community Liaison Committee, n.d., pp.2-3).
As Dublin entered its post-industrial period, the waterfront became the focal point of urban renewal and regeneration (Davidson, 2009, p.217). Due to the central location of the Docklands and the potential which the area had, a renewal and redevelopment plan for the area was put in place by the Government. The Dublin Docklands Area Master Plan was put in place by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority in 1997 and this plan was amended in 2003 and again in 2008 (www.ddda.ie; Haase, 2009, p.6).
Office Space:
Image 1.2: Office Space in Spencer Dock – on the left of this photo is office space which is currently in use and on the right of this image is brand new office space which has just been built.
Prior to the office development boom, it took three decades to develop over one million square meters of office space. The office development boom which was generated by over a decade of economic growth after 1990 was the most intensive which the city had ever seen, with an additional 1.3 million square meters of office space being built (Haase, 2009, p.6).
Residential Areas:
Image 1.3: Apartments located in Mayor Square.
The development of private sector apartments in the inner city transformed Dublin’s residential environment. The establishment of the 1992 Finance Act encouraged investors to invest in the rented residential sector in areas which were designated under the Urban Renewal Scheme as they received tax relief for doing so – this tax relief for investors was linked to Urban Renewal Initiatives. Between 1996 and 2003, 8,800 residential units were built in Dublin’s inner city (Haase, 2009, pp.6-7).
Leisure Pursuits:
Image 1.4: The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre which is located in the Grand Canal Dock Area opened in March 2010. It would not have been feasible to build this theatre without the support of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
The concept of the development of a theatre in the Docklands area emerged in 1992 as the 3Arena was constantly being asked to stage Operas, Ballets, Musicals and Dramas, however there was only a certain amount of weeks in a year when theatre productions could be staged in the 3Arena. In 2001, the concept of a theatre in the Docklands area became a reality during discussions with the Chief Executive Officer and the Property Director of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority wanted an iconic building to be built at Grand Canal Square in the Docklands. Since the opening of The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in 2010, the theatre has entertained half a million people every year (www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie).
Image 1.5: Waterskiing in the Grand Canal Basin.
Watersports have been offered in the Grand Canal Basin for over twenty years by Surfdock. Surfdock started as a small windsurfing school in the Grand Canal Basin in 1992 and now offers a wide range of watersport activities in the Grand Canal Basin. Since the beginning of the regeneration of the Docklands in 1997, Surfdock has grown a lot in terms of the activities which they offer. In 1992, windsurfing was the only watersport activity offered by Surfdock in the Grand Canal Basin, however today one can do kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and wakeboarding to name just a few (www.surfdock.ie).
I’ll sum up this blog entry with the following quote:
“Medieval, Georgian and modern architecture provide a backdrop to a friendly bustling port where the cosmopolitan and charming meet in a delightful diversity that is Dublin.” – VisitDublin.com
That concludes this week’s blog entry and my final entry in this series of blogs.
As we say in Dublin; I’ll love ya and leave ya,
Bibliography:
Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. (2013) Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Available at: http://www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie/ [Accessed 23 November 2014].
Davidson, M. (2009) ‘Waterfront Development’ in R Kitchen and N Thrift (eds), International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Elsevier Ltd., Australia, pp.215-221.
Dublin Docklands Development Authority. (2002) Dublin Docklands Development Authority. Available at: http://www.ddda.ie/enjoydocklands [Accessed 27 November 2014].
Dublin Docklands Development Authority Community Liaison Committee. (n.d.) Report of 15 year of Community Gain obtained through the CLC influence on Docklands Development. Dublin: Dublin Docklands Development Authority. Available at: https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oireachtas.ie%2Fparliament%2Fmedia%2Fcommittees%2Fenvironmenttransportcultureandthegaeltacht%2FDub-Docks-Community-Liaison-Comm-Subm.doc&ei=xKlwVNSDC4HtaPqLgogG&usg=AFQjCNF5KAltBruXrxOtDYN2ZZZG1WEJsQ&bvm=bv.80185997,d.cWc&cad=rja [Accessed 22 November 2014].
Haase, T. (2009) The Changing Face of Dublin’s Inner City. Available at: http://trutzhaase.eu/wp/wp-content/uploads/R_2009_Divided-City.pdf [Accessed 22 November 2014].
Surfdock Watersports Specialists. (2014) Surfdock. Available at: http://www.surfdock.ie/ [Accessed 23 November 2014].
Visit Dublin. (2014) Visit Dublin. Available at: http://www.visitdublin.com/ [Accessed 22 November 2014].
Drawing From The Archives 
Katie M,
I finally found your posting re The Dublin Docklands-an excellent and well-researched piece, worth waiting for! You managed a very balanced utilization of pertinent text, stats, wonderful images and quotations, in addition to a well-argued piece of writing, mixing both “Urban Renewal AND Material Culture, with your own images snd resources. I thoroughly enjoyed this posting as it was interesting, objective, very informative and finally proved the very salient point that samples of both old and new architectural spaces can indeed continue to reside alongside one another and remain both aesthetically pleasing to the eye, yet also be functional as industrial, residential AND cultural spaces, all playing thrir own specific role well, in 21st century Dublin. Well done ‘Katie M’- excellent piece of research and presentation; one of the best Blog postings I have seen to date- Congratulations on your final posting. The Bilbao posting, by Jennifer, comes in at a close 2nd after your finely balanced and well argued piece re Dublin with the most interesting mix of soures of information used, to support your text.
LikeLike