SEOSAMH O BROIN,
Sir, - Many notable Dubliners such as Alfie Byrne, Willie Bermingham, Brendan Behan and Noel Purcell have been honoured by street names and the like in recent years. It was very disappointing, then, that the South Central Area Committee of Dublin City Council turned down our suggestion, which had the backing of many in the community to name the new senior citizens complex in Inchicore as "Eamonn Mac Thomáis House".
As it happened, there were only five out of 22 councillors present when the vote was taken. With the exception of Cllr V. Jackson, four of these voted for the bland and unimaginative "Bulfin Court". This fine new building merits something more inspiring than this, bearing in mind that the writer William Bulfin had no association with the area. Dublin City Council's own guidelines stipulate that place names should, where possible, reflect the ethos of the area in question.
We are calling on the forthcoming monthly meeting of the full City Council to overturn this hasty decision by a mere four of their colleagues and instead to honour that quintessential Dubliner who grew up in Inchicore and went on to contribute significantly to the social history of the city. - Yours, etc.,
SEOSAMH Ó BROIN,
Inchicore & District
Heritage Group,
Tyrconnell Park,
Dublin 8.