Sir, Development is proceeding apace in many areas of Dublin, and discoveries of our past are coming to light as this happens. Temple Bar springs to mind, with the recently revealed Friary remains. What have been largely ignored are more recent remains of what were once important places in the working lives of Dubliners.
I refer to the industrial remains of our fairly recent past. Changes to the development plan are proposed to the Distillery at Smithfield. Many of the buildings date from the end of the last century and the beginning of the 20th. They are as valid a part of our heritage as the older abbeys and monasteries. If destroyed without trace, a link with the past. of our grandparents will be quickly lost. We, as a society, urge that all such remains be recorded in the City Archives before they are swept away and an important era in the commercial life of Dublin is lost for good. Yours, etc., Hon see, Dublin Archaeological Society, Meadowbrook Lawn, Baldoyle, Co Dublin.