Madam, - What is the point of having a Minister for the Arts, and bodies such as Dúchas, An Táisce, Aosdána, the RIAI, the Arts Council, the Georgian Society, Bord Fáilte, etc., when Dublin Corporation in one fell swoop can destroy the scale of all the architecture on O'Connell Street and also destroy the unity of the street itself by erecting a divisive structure twice the height of Liberty Hall. The GPO now looks like a cottage. Does anyone care?
The brief for the competition which spawned this structure stated clearly and categorically: "The monument shall have a verticial emphasis, an elegant structure of 21st century contemporary design which shall relate to the quality and scale of O'Connell Street as represented by the late 18th century and early 20th century architecture".
Having destroyed the scale of all the existing architecture on O'Connell Street, Dublin Corporation now has the cheek to boast it will make millions of euro from this act of vandalism.
Who is responsible for allowing this structure to be erected? Mr Noel Dempsey, TD, when he was Minister for the Environment allowed this out-of-scale structure to be erected on the main street of our capital city. He ignored democracy, the voice of the people who overwhelmingly objected in writing to this project, while only a handful supported it. I was privileged to have examined the file of all those who wrote to the Minister concerning this matter.
Does the Taoiseach approve of what has been done to O'Connell Street which is in his own constituency? - Yours, etc.,
MICHEÁL Ó NUALLÁIN, Monkstown, Co Dublin.