Paper reports on city plans ‘doomed project’

NEWSPAPER reports revealing plans for the £100 million redevelopment of inner city Dublin destroyed the project’s chances of success, developer Tom Gilmartin complained to the Mahon Tribunal.

Mr Gilmartin said he feared publicity for the massive shopping centre plan he was putting together for the Bachelors Walk area of the city in 1988 and 1989 because he knew property prices would escalate once word got out about it.

“My concern was that there be no announcement of the project because we would be held to ransom by shadowy figures appearing and starting to buy the properties already on offer so that they could sell them back to us for ransom figures and that’s what happened,” he said.