Ballymun Flats
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The Ballymun Flats tower block complex in Ballymun, Dublin is scheduled for excavation.
The Ballymun Flats were built in the 1960s to accommodate the rising population, and particularly to accommodate former residents of inner-city areas which were being cleared in the process of 1960s 'urban slum clearances'. Whilst suffering from a lack of sufficient public amenities, several schools served the area (Holy Spirit N.S. and Ballymun Comprehensive), as well as an Eastern Health Board medical centre and a purpose built shopping centre. The area suffered from many social problems such as drugs with rampant crime as well as many other problems. The causes of these social problems, and the subsequent discrimination faced by many people with Ballymun addresses when seeking employment outside the suburb, have been disputed, but Ballymun generally paralleled the experience of many working-class people in the 1960 and 1970s when placed in high-rise locations. Despite the negative perceptions of many non-residents of Ballymun, there existed, and exists today, a strong sense of pride and community in the area, as evidenced by the fact that many former residents of the flats have accepted new social housing in the district.
The seven landmark towers were named after the leaders of the Easter 1916 rising as follows:
- Pearse (demolished July 2004)
- MacDonagh (demolished June 2005)
- Clarke (Demolished april 2008)
- Connolly (demolished december 2007)
- Ceannt (demolished may 2005)
- Plunkett
- MacDermott (demolished March 2005)
The remaining tower is clearly visible from the adjacent Dublin airport. A petition is currently being drawn up to save the joseph plunkett tower from being demolished.
The red aircraft warning lights on these structures were not connected to any form of back-up power for many years, leaving the towers completely dark in a power outage.
The line "I see seven towers, but I only see one way out" from U2's 1987 song "Running to Stand Still" (on The Joshua Tree album) refers to these towers.[1]
Ballymun flats feature in M.J. Hyland's Booker-shortlisted novel Carry Me Down (2006), symbolising John's family's descent into poverty.
[edit] References
- ^ The Dubliner, "A Social History of U2 1976-2005", 1991 entry. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
