Irish Examiner view: Dublin landmarks back in the news

St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre and Dublin City Council's offices at Wood Quay are in the news for the wrong reason

The St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, which occupies a prime location at the junction between Grafton St and the Green in Dublin city centre, is set for a major rebuild. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews

Two public buildings in Dublin, born in controversy, are back in the news, and again surrounded by controversy. Dublin City Council’s headquarters at Wood Quay was constructed in the 1980s, after a long and bitter battle by those seeking to protect an important historic site. Now the city council proposes to move from Wood Quay and either demolish the much-maligned offices or “repurpose” them for housing.

A little over a kilometre away, the St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre, which occupies a prime location at the junction between Grafton St and the Green, is set for a major rebuild. The distinctive glass structure was not universally popular when construction began in the mid 1980s.