The courtyard in the centre of the Pearse House flats in Dublin's inner city was once a jumble of potholes, clotheslines and rusting pram sheds. "It was like Beirut," recalled resident Maureen Delaney.
Yesterday it was a sea of flowers and brightly coloured playgrounds as a €7.5 million outdoor face-lift was revealed. Stilt-walkers and clowns mingled with children who squealed with delight at the sight of bouncy castles. The Army No 1 Band played jaunty tunes as the colourful bunting fluttered in the breeze.
"When's Mary McAleese coming?" asked Tony Fagan (13), who was very disappointed to hear that it was Minister for the Environment Dick Roche who was doing the opening honours. Mr Roche's department and Dublin City Council provided most of the funding for the improvement works. The courtyard is now cobble-locked and includes three small playgrounds and a large AstroTurf sports pitch.
At the request of residents, CCTV cameras, security gates and improved lighting have all been installed. Almost 1,000 people live in the 345 flats in 16 blocks. The original scheme was built in the early 1930s and is a protected structure.
Mary Kiernan (70) is one of the flats' longest residents, having lived there 66 years. "They have it done up lovely now," she said. "It was badly needed."
Younger residents Saffron Neville (8) and Saoirse Rourke (9) were also impressed. "We're having the craic," said Saffron. "The band is brilliant, and the bouncy castles. The flowers are really pretty as well." Saoirse was delighted with the choice of play areas. "We always do flips and tumbles in the playground."
But the teenagers were less impressed. "The flower beds were a waste of space. They're horrible," said Tony Fagan.
"And they don't even last long. They are always dead. There's no point to them," added Christina Sullivan (13). "There's nothing for us." She said the football pitch closed at 6pm and they had to pay €3 to use it after that time.
About 13 other similar improvement works are under way or planned for other flat complexes in the Dublin City Council area, including Constitution Hill, Markievicz House and Donnybrook's Beech Hill.
