JOVIAL Jim Barrett must have been blushing in the Four Seasons Hotel last week over the extravagant lifetime achievement citation he got in this year's Opus Awards.

Anyone would have thought that he had almost single-handedly transformed Dublin during his 13 years as city architect.

He was described as "a man of many parts - persuasive, personable, and culturally committed from architecture to Cork hurling", working with Delaney McVeigh and Pike (now O'Mahony Pike) in the 1970s before moving on to become de facto city architect in problem-plagued Limerick.

"The Dublin Corporation he came to was walking backwards into the future. Folksy Dublin 'in the rare old times' rhetoric masked an absence of vision, commitment and insight. Jim brought insight and commitment plus a map and a vision. Questions such as 'where are we going?' and 'what are our values?' helped redefine and transform a city stalled by lack of leadership," the citation said.

"Together with his city manager [who was not named, but we know him as John Fitzgerald], a consensus was formed on how the capital should meet the future. Urban renewal from deprived inner city areas to Ballymun flats, from O'Connell Street to Smithfield, gained momentum and political support.

"Dublin began to redefine itself - comparing itself to Barcelona or Copenhagen," it went on, adding that the lifetime achievement award is given to an individual who has sustained a high level of excellence, insight and achievement in their field over an extended period of time. "Jim Barrett has done that and much more."

The man himself was a bit more inclusive: "Beyond the obvious personal satisfaction of receiving this accolade, I believe it is a hugely significant reflection of the role of the public service and local authorities have played in the success of the Celtic Tiger," he said.