Conservationists who opposed the controversial Hilton hotel planned for the edge of College Green in Dublin have now switched their attention to Allied Irish Banks, which still owns the site.
Following Hilton International's withdrawal from the £35 million project, the "Think Again Hilton" website on the Internet, which opponents set up last December, is calling on its "many thousand" visitors to lobby AIB.
The website includes an automatic e-mail facility directed at Mr Martin Naughton, AIB's chairman and founder of Glen Dimplex, urging him to work with conservationists to find a viable alternative use for the buildings.
Praising the Hotel Merrion, in which Mr Naughton was involved, as well as AIB's Better Ireland awards scheme, it calls on people to e-mail AIB and "help concentrate the minds of Mr Naughton and his fellow directors".
It claims that AIB "has actually made it impossible for the heritage buildings on the site to be treated with proper care over the last 20 years, thus in effect leading to the current dereliction.
"Hilton International has done the right thing and given us back the chance to save this important part of our heritage. Will AIB follow suit and develop a plan that would ensure the long-term conservation of our heritage buildings?"
