One of Dublin's famous landmarks, the Seán McDermott Ballymun tower was demolished this morning.The 15-storey tower was demolished by around 60kg of explosives inserted into hundreds of shot holes spread throughout the structure.
The controlled implosion will bring 8,500 tonnes of concrete, metal and glass crashing down in five seconds.
Sequence of five photos of the demolition of the McDermott Tower. Photo: Haydn West/PA
A 100m exclusion zone was established around the tower, controlled by private security guards as well as gardaí.
The Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Mr Dermot Ahern, who carried out the countdown to the demolition, said: "When the dust settles, the skyline will have changed forever and another
stage in the regeneration of Ballymun will have commenced."
Traffic diversions were in place in the area from 9am. The Ballymun Road from Collins Avenue to Ballymun Cross were closed for the demolition. The slip road onto Ballymun Road at Balcurris Road was also closed. Gardaí have advised motorists to take alternative routes.
Last July the first of the seven towers in Ballymun was demolished, and over the next five years the remainder will also be razed and replaced with 5,000 new homes in a mix of two-, three- and four-storey units.
It is hoped more than 2,000 of those homes will be completed by November 2005 in a €2.5 billion regeneration project in the area . Of these, just over half will be replacement housing for families in the flats. In addition, 8 per cent will be voluntary/affordable homes and 39 per cent will be private housing.