The Irish Georgian Society last night criticised Dublin City Council for the partial demolition of two protected buildings in the city centre last weekend. However, the city architect defended the action on safety grounds.
The two 17th century Georgian houses in Parnell Street were knocked down on Friday. Years of neglect and an apparent failure to maintain the houses were blamed for the poor state of the buildings.
The demolition process came in the wake of Dublin City Council issuing a dangerous buildings order following a fire three weeks ago on the properties. It is believed that squatters started the fire.
Sections of Parnell Street and Ryder's Row were sealed off to traffic following the removal of the roof stabilisers, which in turned caused some initial crumbling of the three-storey walls.
Mr Jim Barrett, Dublin city architect with responsibility for dangerous buildings, said: "Following the fire a number of weeks ago, the building was investigated, and it was discovered that front walls were over a foot out of line and in real danger of collapsing. We needed to seek ministerial approval to secure the building which we received, and we moved quickly to remove any danger."
The Irish Georgian Society yesterday criticised the demolition, and laid the blame at the door of Dublin City Council whom, it said, "failed to implement powers to safeguard endangered buildings through compulsory purchase orders".
Initial concerns surfaced in 2000 when the council met with the owner of the buildings about a future course of action in terms of salvation and restoration. Tenants living in the premises were moved out, but it is believed that since then they have been occupied by squatters.
By yesterday evening, the buildings had been demolished to first-storey level, and were declared safe. "The situation now arises as what can be done. We have brought in leading conservation architect Paul Arnold to oversee the project to maximise what can be saved from the site, " said Mr Barrett.
The houses, at 217 and 218 Parnell Street, were built in 1683.
Last night Dublin City Council gave its reaction to the criticism from the Irish Georgian Society. A spokesman, Mr Hugh Fahey, said: "Of course we refute the criticism. We tried to do as much as possible to maintain the structure. However, common sense suggests that human safety must come first, and there comes a time when a building deteriorates that nothing can be done to save it."