Dublin's next Lord Mayor is likely to be dispossessed of the right to live in Dawson Street because the Mansion House will have to be closed for a year to treat an infestation of dry rot.
As a result, the Taoiseach's elder brother, Alderman Maurice Ahern, who has been tipped to succeed Cllr Mary Freehill (Labour) next month as the capital's first citizen, will spend most of his term of office living at home in Drumcondra.
This follows last year's unexpected job-sharing pact between Fianna Fail and Labour after the local elections, under which the Lord Mayor's post is rotated between the two parties for the five-year term of the present council.
The Fianna Fail group leader, Alderman Pat Carey TD, said extensive dry rot had been discovered in the Mansion House, which dates from 1715. "There are fears for the wood panelling in the Oak Room and the entrance hall," he said.
According to Mr Carey, the dry-rot fungus may have spread from the Round Room and Supper Room. These public rooms have recently been reopened following a lengthy renovation.
He said it was unfortunate that the Mansion House itself, reclaimed as the Lord Mayor's residence in the 1970s, must now be closed just as this programme is completed, with the Supper Room operating as a franchised restaurant called Fado.
The latest setback for Dublin Corporation also coincides, ironically, with the imminent reopening of the City Hall, now splendidly restored to the original plan and proportions it had when it was built as the Royal Exchange in the 1760s.
The city council, which has been holding its meetings in the Oak Room of the Mansion House and other venues over the past two years, will return to the City Hall for its first session there following the removal of alterations carried out in the 1850s.
All of the internal walls which were inserted at the time have been demolished to reveal Thomas Cooley's original circular colonnade in all its glory. The spectacular vaulted basement will house an exhibition of Dublin's treasures and municipal history.
There are plans to develop a revenue museum on the adjoining pocket park, laid out for the Dublin millennium in 1988. Much of this museum would also be at basement level, but it would include a new building and a smaller landscaped area.
