Sir, – As part of the plans for Dublin’s much-needed MetroLink, the Brian Boru pub in Glasnevin is set to be demolished. In a city that prides itself on its famous writers and old pubs, it seems a sad end for a 200-year-old establishment mentioned by James Joyce in Ulysses and by James Plunkett in Strumpet City.
But I wonder have the powers that be considered moving this historic pub – perhaps to one of Dublin’s many derelict sites – and using it as a living museum or a cultural space? They do not need to look far for some inspiration.
The historic Vulcan pub in Cardiff, once situated in a part of the city called Little Ireland, was moved brick-by-brick by the Welsh national museum and recently reopened on a new site.
A similar initiative for the Brian Boru pub would help towards saving a piece of Dublin’s social history. Perhaps it could also be something of a cultural legacy from the MetroLink project, in addition to its economic and environmental benefits. – Yours, etc,
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FERGAL O’LEARY,
Inchicore,
Dublin 8.
