Sir, – I, as a woman, am angry and sad that planning permission was declined for the expansion and rejuvenation of that wonderful “lying-in hospital”, which dates from 1757. The Rotunda has presided over the history and development of obstetric care for mothers in Dublin and was home to one of the clinics to offer assisted reproduction to Irish women.
I took a walk around the area yesterday and failed to see anything that could legally be used to object to its further development in situ.
On the contrary, it appears to me that a modern addition and development to the hospital is exactly what is needed in the area. it is surrounded by some amazing buildings, now almost dormant whose titles on their fronts reflect our aspirational past.
The nearby Garden of Remembrance is quite small and is used to greet dignitaries, including the late Queen Elizabeth. It is of course a dedication to all of those “who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom”.
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The Rotunda Hospital is a living memory of all the mothers of Ireland who gave birth “to the nation”.
It must be refurbished, its midwives honoured and it must continue to look after mothers and their babies in a magnificent, albeit now deprived area. Further, the development of the hospital would greatly assist in being a first step to much- needed regeneration of Dublin 1. – Yours, etc,
Dr EVELYN MAHON,
Fellow Emerita,
Trinity College,
Dublin.
Sir, – Much has been written over the past week concerning the decision of An Comisiún Pleanála to reject the Rotunda’s development plans.
It is perhaps instructive that we are approaching the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Garden of Remembrance within Parnell Square. While admittedly the garden is largely sunken within the grounds, nobody could argue that its 1960s design features align with those of the Georgian era. One must assume that understandable fervour to honour those who gave their lives to build our freedom relegated such design niceties to the periphery at the time.
In this era, the nation should apply similar but forward-looking principles to honour our future newest and most vulnerable citizens. Ensuring the end result of the planning process permits this essential development, in a manner reasonably sympathetic to its surroundings, will stand as an homage to those new lives. – Yours, etc,
LORCAN BROPHY,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
