Dublin City Council's James Weir Home decision 'yet another blow for Dublin 8'
Dublin City Council will not proceed with the purchase of the James Weir Home for Nurses in Dublin 8.
The former former nurses' home on Cork Street in the Liberties had been intended for use as social housing by DCC , who had planned to acquire the site from the HSE. But last January it was announced that the developmental costs were too high to deliver long-term social housing while maintaining the “heritage integrity” of the building.
There was hope that council would still proceed with the purchase and ensure the historic building, which dates back to 1903, could serve the local community in some way. Now, Sinn Féin Councillor Ciarán Ó Meachair has revealed that, based on a recommendation from Dublin City Council ’s property valuation team, a decision has been made not to move forward with the purchase.
Cllr Ó Meachair described this as “yet another blow for Dublin 8,” as this area has been “constantly crying out for more community spaces”. The South-West Inner-City representative has consistently campaigned for the repurposing of the home and spoken about the need for community investment in the area.
“The HSE had been open to talking to DCC about transferring ownership, but the unfortunate reality is it’s likely to go onto the private market now unless another public body takes it,” he said.
The decision comes just weeks after the publication of a report on the socio-economic challenges in Dublin 8 by Dr. Barra Roantree of Trinity College which showed the area is disproportionately impacted by deprivation, low educational attainment, and a lack of physical activity due to insufficient facilities.
“The simple reality is this area needs significant investment to counter the problems we face. The Dr. Roantree report shows this,” Cllr Ó Meachair explained.
“Among the groups interested in gaining use of the Weir Home were youth projects who work with vulnerable young people. The Weir Home could have been a massive boost for them.”
“The reopening of the Donore Community Centre is on track for 2027 but the reality is it isn’t big enough to cope with the demand that’s already there, much less the additional several thousand people set to move to the area in the coming years as part of the Donore Regeneration Project.”
“I would appeal to Dublin City Council to reverse the decision and to proceed with acquiring the James Weir Home for the benefit of this community”.
The prevalence of hotels and student accommodation in the Liberties has also been a consistent point of concern for Cllr Ó Meachair, who has called for the area to be considered for inclusion on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list to halt the erosion of the “cultural fabric” of Dublin 8.
“The James Weir Home for Nurses is a major historical landmark on Cork Street, which has shamefully fallen into complete decay and dereliction while under the ownership of a public body, the HSE,” Cllr O Meachair stated last January.
“We need more housing in the area, but as the population increases over the next few years that also has to be matched with facilities for people. There needs to be proper community facilities, there's an issue around lack of sports facilities and pitches, so it can still complement the need for more housing to get a space up that serves the needs of the local community.”
“There’s already a lot of dereliction in the Liberties,” Cllr O Meachair said, stating he’d hate to see the site fall into ruin and “in five or 10 years” hear it is being sold “to develop a hotel”. “It has happened right across Dublin 8 over the last few years where places are allowed to fall into dereliction and to decay to the point that they're just kind of sold off to the lowest bidder,” he said.
“The building is under public ownership and it should stay under public ownership for the benefit of the public and the community. Now is the time to keep the ball rolling on it and make sure that it doesn't slip off the radar and slip off of the agenda because otherwise nothing will ever happen.”
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