The relocation of the Abbey Theatre to the site of the old Carlton cinema in Dublin's O'Connell Street has re-emerged as a possibility following a High Court judgment yesterday which is expected to clear the way for the redevelopment of the upper part of the street.
Redevelopment has been stalled since the late 1990s, most recently by a court challenge to a compulsory purchase order by Dublin City Council on the site.
Following yesterday's judgment which dismissed the challenge, Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald said the council would be happy to have the Carlton site reconsidered by the Government as a new home for the Abbey Theatre.
The current building on Abbey Street is considered to be too small and in increasingly bad repair.
An expert group from the Department of Arts and the Office of Public Works had considered the Carlton site last year but ruled it out because of the continuing legal wrangle and in favour of the former Coláiste Mhuire school site in Parnell Square.
This fell through following the failure of a deal on the purchase of a neighbouring plot needed for the development.
More recently the search for for a new home for the Abbey had moved to the Docklands but was at a very early stage.
Mr Fitzgerald said finding a new home for the Abbey was a matter for the Government.
"It's not our call, but if the Government did want to re-examine the Carlton site, we would be happy to discuss it, and I'm sure that the developer [ of the Carlton site] would be happy to facilitate this," he said.
He was now very hopeful that the redevelopment of the site, seen as vital to the rejuvenation of Upper O'Connell Street and the surrounding area, would go ahead, although another case about the site is still before the courts.
This relates to the decision by the council to choose a new developer for the site, builder Joe O'Reilly, who built the Dundrum Centre.
The challenge is being taken by architect Paul Clinton of the Carlton Group, the original developers of the site who took yesterday's failed action.
"I would be very hopeful that we can dispose of this piece of litigation in a short time, and we will be seeking a hearing as early as possible," Mr Fitzgerald said.
"This has been going on for too long now, but I'm much more confident about it than I was six or seven months ago."
The council plans to create a new shopping and entertainment precinct on the site, along with a new street to link O'Connell Street to Moore Street.
Parts of the site have been derelict since 1979.
Although the proposal has had full planning approval since 1999 it will have to undergo the process again as the five-year time limit is up.
The Carlton Group, which included the owners of the site, was originally to undertake the development in 1999, but Dublin City Council moved in with a compulsory purchase order in 2001 after officials became concerned that the group would be unable to complete the redevelopment.