Several roads in Dublin's north inner city are likely remain closed throughout the weekend to allow for the demolition by Dublin City Council of an unsafe building near Croke Park.
The three-storey Intertool building at the corner of the North Circular Road and Russell Street had been classified as dangerous by the council since last December, but the safety of the structure became a matter of urgency yesterday after one of the chimneys toppled from the building.
No one was injured but gardaí were alerted and subsequently contacted the council. An evaluation was conducted by council engineers and an independent structural engineer who confirmed that demolition was the best course of action. The buildings surrounding the site are not at risk, the council said.
The bulk of the demolition took place yesterday. However, it will be later today before closed roads reopen, and some are likely to remain closed for the weekend.
Affected roads are Fitzgibbon Street, Emmet Street, Charles Street, Belvedere Place, Belvedere Street and Portland Street. A council spokeswoman said it would endeavour to recoup the demolition costs from the owner of the building. The owner could not be contacted by The Irish Times yesterday.
