Home News Latest News Local relief as Legion Hall is saved

Local relief as Legion Hall is saved

Thursday, 24 June 2010

NORTHSIDE residents are celebrating following An Bord Pleanala’s decision to reject a planning application, which would have seen the demolition of a hall built in memory of locals who served in the First World War. Residents in Killester breathed a sigh of relief last week when Dublin City Council’s controversial decision to grant permission of for the site of the landmark British Legion Hall was overturned. The proposal had provided for the demolition of the existing hall and the construction of a two-storey crèche with 10 parking spaces. The hall was built in the 1920s as an amenity for veterans of World War 1 and is the last remaining structure of its kind in Ireland. Shay Nash of the Killester Garden’s Residents’ Association said the community was delighted that An Bord Pleanala had rejected the proposal. “We are very, very happy with the An Bord Pleanala ruling,” he told Northside People. “We would love to see the building renovated and restored but it is up to the owner now to maintain the building by removing the graffiti.” Local resident Eric Stephenson was also relieved that An Bord Pleanala had overturned the council’s approval of the application. “Everybody’s delighted with the final decision,” he stated. “The council should never have given the application the go ahead in the first place.” Artane man Noel Cullen, secretary of the local Royal British Legion branch, which provides support for ex-British servicemen and their families, is calling for people to remember the many men from North Dublin who served in the war. “This site should be preserved for the use of the local community and in memory of the men who fought in the First World War,” he told Northside People. “I have been supporting the local campaign to preserve this building. It is part of our history and it is only right to commemorate men who gave their all.” Killester Garden Village was built for returning soldiers and sailors in the 1920s and the hall provided a meeting space for local families, many of whom are still living in the area. “The hall should be renovated and given over to the local community as a public amenity,” added Mr Cullen. “The role of Irishmen in the war has been receiving more and more recognition recently. Before, people weren’t really able to talk about it. “I myself served in the British Army in the 1960s and have been with the British Legion for 40 years – there are ex servicemen on every street in this city. “It is time young people were allowed to find out about the men who served in these wars. This hall is part of that history.” Meanwhile, questions have been raised as to how and why Dublin City Council initially gave the green light for the proposed development. Cllr Aodhan O Riordain (Lab) is calling on the council to reimburse all those who appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala. “I am calling on the City manager to make a statement on this matter as it has cost me and other residents over $200 to uphold the community’s rights which should have been protected by the city council’s planning officials.” Local Labour party representative Bronwen Maher said the planning board’s recent ruling was a brilliant result for the residents who fought a “long, hard and costly battle to overturn the city council’s decision”. “The Legion Hall, while not particularly architectural is of great cultural significance to the community,” she told Northside People. “Questions now need to be asked of the city council as to how it could approve an application for a development which was blatantly contrary to the zoning.”