No sooner have the Limerick slums been demolished than they are being reconstructed again as the city begins its love affair with Angela's Ashes in earnest.
Shannon Development and Limerick Civic Trust have recreated the home of Frank McCourt's youth in an £80,000 tourism development, ironically in the stables of a refurbished Georgian house, the home of a wealthy family in the 1940s and 1950s.
Even the heavens obliged for yesterday's opening, providing dark clouds and a hint of rain, evoking the miserable, rain-sodden atmosphere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book and Alan Parker's film.
The set-pieces of "Italy", the nickname given by Frank McCourt's father to the comparatively comfortable upstairs bedroom, and "Ireland", the downstairs kitchen, which was flooded by an open drain in winter, have been created without the nasal effects.
But an artificial puddle has been built in and the kitchen also includes the range used in the film, Mr John King of Shannon Heritage said. The atmosphere for the two-up, two-down house on Roden Lane is completed with sounds of running water and children playing, beds placed alongside each other in the cramped bedroom and plaster flaking from the ceiling. The centre, at 2 Pery Square, now includes a Georgian home at the front and exhibitions on the history of Limerick and scenes from the Angela's Ashes film at the rear in what were the stables.
Appropriately, they exit on to one of the old Limerick lanes. Although the cobblestones have been concreted over, the drain which ran along the centre of the narrow road is still visible.
Mr King said there were possible opportunities in the future to restore the laneway to its original, humble condition and expand the exhibition. After reaching an agreement with Paramount Pictures and Frank McCourt over the use of artefacts, he will also consider incorporating a documentary made by Conor McCourt, nephew of Frank and son of Malachy, on "The McCourts of Limerick" which was recently shown on the ABC network in the US.
"Frank McCourt himself is very supportive. He had hoped to be here for this opening," he said.