Source of the picture: www.panoramio.com
Source of the article: www.speakup.com.br
DUBLIN DOWN AT THE DOCKS
The regeneration of the Dublin Docklands started in the late 1980. Today, many banks and companies have their headquarters on both sides of the River Liffey, and Spencer Dock is the country’s largest urban regeneration project.
The Docklands Development Authority, founded in 1997, at the height of the “Celtic Tiger,” is in charge of prosperity development and regeneration. It makes great effort to capitalize on the Docklands’ maritime heritage and to breathe life into the sea. There are sports and cultural events, such as the Maritime Festival in June.
CHARACTER BUILDING
Yet much of the Docklands still feels soulless. The chq building, for example, is a historical wine and tobacco warehouse. Today it houses nice shops, a tea salon and a Starbucks, but it has very little atmosphere. Visitors should walk along the quayside to understand the contrasts of Dublin old and new: a bronze statue of a dockworker pulling a rope and urban graffiti, a mobile coffee stall on the river by glass office buildings.
On the opposite side of the Liffey, bronze statues of starved immigrants appear to be waiting to board the Jeanie Johnston, the replica of an immigration ship. Just a bit further along, a floating restaurant represents the new gourmet Dublin.
LITERARY CONNECTIONS
Two beautiful new bridges over the Liffey were built in recent years (in honour of famous Irish writers): the Sean O’Casey Bridge swing bridge and, in 2009, the Samuel Beckett suspension bridge. From here, you can see one of the Docklands’ iconic developments: The O2, a gleaming new concert venue for big acts like Rod Stewart or Beyoncé. U2 were the first to perform there when it opened in late 2008.
SCANDAL
It is no secret that Ireland was hit by the recession, and the Docklands, as the centre of the economic bubble, were badly hit. The U2 Tower which was going to be Ireland’s highest building and house the band’s new recording studios, is on hold. Also, he Docklands Development Authority has been accused of mismanagement. Important files on the purchase of a € 420 million site in 2006, and now worth much less, strangely disappeared!
IRELAND OLD AND NEW
While in a sense, the Docklands represent Ireland’s recent obsession with properly, the new projects also designed to bring “normal” Dubliners and visitors into the area. Next to the O2 concert hall, the Point Village has just opened an all-year weekend market that, in the words of the organizers, “encourages everything the Celtic Tiger forgot, and is an outlet for all of the people most affected by the recession.”
