Dublin's Collins Barracks set for conservation status under council plans
An area taking in Collins Barracks and Arbour Hill in Dublin 8 is in line to become the capital’s latest Architectural Conservation Area (ACA), under new plans from the council.
Speaking to councillors in recent days, Dublin City Council’s (DCC) deputy city planner Malachy Bradley said the proposal would come before the next monthly meeting of the authority in September.
“This is quite an unusual Architectural Conservation Area, most of the ones we have would be existing residential areas,” he said.
“But this one is unique because of its historic complex and the military complex that it is.”
The full area takes in Collins Barracks, Arbour Hill Prison, and Croppies’ Acre Memorial Park all the way down to the River Liffey.
A map of the proposed ACA highlighted in red
If enacted, it would enjoy similar planning protections to DCC’s 26 existing conservation areas such as Grafton Street, O’Connell Street and Capel Street.
In a briefing note on the new designation, Mr Bradley wrote that Collins Barracks is “one of the city’s most prominent complexes and was one of the grandest barracks buildings in Great Britain or Ireland in the early-eighteenth century.
“The construction of large free-standing barrack buildings, by the Irish establishment, heralded the introduction of a thoroughly new building type which became common throughout the country,” he said.
Mr Bradley wrote that the completion of the building heralded the development of a military quarter in this part of the city, which includes the Magazine Fort and Royal Military Infirmary in the Phoenix Park, Marlborough Barracks in Grangegorman and the George V Military Hospital on Arbour Hill.
“Prior to the withdrawal of the Irish Defence Forces in April 1997, the barracks was one of the longest continually inhabited barracks buildings in Europe,” he said.
Since then, the buildings have been developed by the National Museum of Ireland, and currently house their decorative arts and history collection.
The area was also a “pivotal location” in many significant historic milestones, said Mr Bradley, including the 1798 Rebellion and Easter Rising in 1916.
The ACA designation provides buildings within its boundaries additional protections from a conservation standpoint, in order to preserve the area’s architectural character and uniqueness.
Works to repair and retain traditional finishes and materials are encouraged in a conservation area, while the designation also provides additional potential for grant funding.
Iveagh Gardens in Crumlin, the last ACA introduced by DCC, was formally ratified in December last year.