Gilmartin may answer long-awaited questions

Caroline O’Dohertyon the ongoing development controversy.

IF Tom Gilmartin had had his way Bachelors Walk would be known as a smart shopping precinct bursting with chic boutiques and bijou cafes instead of the slightly shabby home of three jaded 20-somethings in an RTÉ sitcom.

Mr Gilmartin's ambitious 1980s plan to transform the then semi-derelict quayside into Dublin's newest commercial quarter could have dictated the direction of the massive development that would shape the city centre in the years ahead and might even have made crossing the Liffey a less traumatic experience for southsiders.