Poolbeg chimneys at risk of corrosion

.42.

Out of sight, Out of mind.

People will forget about them pretty quick when they're gone

LollipopJimmy

Having seen this on twitter the last while the call for the removal is mostly coming from people who don't live near them. They can be seen from many parts of the city and something about them just says 'home' to me. I will be saddened if they come down, however the ESB seem hellbent on removing them, I assume this is because they are having to foot the bill for maintenance

KungPao

I vote to knock em. Then Dubs can buy chunks of them as souvenirs, to help pay off our debts. Afterwards we can have a memorial garden for the chimneys, like ground zero in New York.

I do think their days are numbered though, this is the start of the long goodbye. Too old and useless to justify spending money on them.

I just hope the chimney at Milltown Luas bridge isn’t next. Sniff.

PhilOssophy

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Having seen this on twitter the last while the call for the removal is mostly coming from people who don't live near them. They can be seen from many parts of the city and something about them just says 'home' to me. I will be saddened if they come down, however the ESB seem hellbent on removing them, I assume this is because they are having to foot the bill for maintenance

If the ESB are footing the bill, that means you and I are footing the bill.....

Is there not other things which say "home" to you? While I agree they are iconic as you fly or sail in to the city, surely we can do better than this as a country/capital city?

Imagine flying in to Paris or London on the Heathrow flight path and thinking "oh there's 2 lovely landmarks of chimneys, rather than looking at Westminster or the Eiffel Tower in the distance?

We can surely do better in terms of iconic landmarks than spending several million euro to retain 2 derelict chimneys. Surely?

odyssey06

PhilOssophy wrote: »

If the ESB are footing the bill, that means you and I are footing the bill.....
Is there not other things which say "home" to you? While I agree they are iconic as you fly or sail in to the city, surely we can do better than this as a country/capital city?
Imagine flying in to Paris or London on the Heathrow flight path and thinking "oh there's 2 lovely landmarks of chimneys, rather than looking at Westminster or the Eiffel Tower in the distance?
We can surely do better in terms of iconic landmarks than spending several million euro to retain 2 derelict chimneys. Surely?

Well we don't have an Eiffel tower do we?
When we tried to do something, we got the Spire.
So let's be realistic.

And London has this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station

PhilOssophy

odyssey06 wrote: »

Well we don't have an Eiffel tower do we?
When we tried to do something, we got the Spire.
So let's be realistic.

And London has this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station

Well we can try again and come up with something better than the spire for the millions that will be spent on these.

Battersea Power Station is an eyesore the last time I got the train in from Gatwick a couple of years ago.

pauliebdub

I just don't get the love for these industrial chimneys. Most normal countries demolish such stacks when they are no longer used but for some bizarre reason they are considered iconic in Dublin. I just don't get it. They're not even that old dating from the 70s. They've deteriorated very badly over the past few years and I don't think public money should be spent preserving them.

LollipopJimmy

PhilOssophy wrote: »

If the ESB are footing the bill, that means you and I are footing the bill.....

Is there not other things which say "home" to you? While I agree they are iconic as you fly or sail in to the city, surely we can do better than this as a country/capital city?

Imagine flying in to Paris or London on the Heathrow flight path and thinking "oh there's 2 lovely landmarks of chimneys, rather than looking at Westminster or the Eiffel Tower in the distance?

We can surely do better in terms of iconic landmarks than spending several million euro to retain 2 derelict chimneys. Surely?

It's the fact that they can be seen from many parts of the City and that's where the sense of hone comes from.

Also, the site they are built in is actually mostly reclaimed, this was reclaimed with the slack from the coal burning power station. There is a lot of history from our industrial past down in Poolbeg

Thelonious Monk

They've turned Battersea into apartments and kept the chimneys, pretty big development.
I grew up close enough to them to have been looking at the poxy things enough, it doesn't seem like too long ago they were still pumping out steam.

PhilOssophy

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

It's the fact that they can be seen from many parts of the City and that's where the sense of hone comes from.

Also, the site they are built in is actually mostly reclaimed, this was reclaimed with the slack from the coal burning power station. There is a lot of history from our industrial past down in Poolbeg

They can be seen from most many parts of the city - can they? I drive and cycle around many parts of Dublin all the time, and I can't say they feature on my radar!

HeidiHeidi

PhilOssophy wrote: »

We can surely do better in terms of iconic landmarks than spending several million euro to retain 2 derelict chimneys. Surely?

It's when talk turns to "we could do better " that i get really nervous..... that's what gave us the Spire - which while I don't hate it, is distinctly meh IMO.

Trying to manufacture an iconic landmark is doomed to failure, mostly - the chimneys are there, and for me the argument is should we pay to keep them or not - not what could or should replace them. Then you're down the road of just trying too hard, to be hip/cool/iconic/historic - and it just gets embarrassing.

Bob Harris

I like them but as I've posted before, just repair and give them a lick of paint.

Raytown Rocks

PhilOssophy wrote: »

They can be seen from most many parts of the city - can they? I drive and cycle around many parts of Dublin all the time, and I can't say they feature on my radar!

Maybe the more coastal parts of the city then...
And some of the higher parts looking down.

Maybe not on your radar, but on lots of others though

PhilOssophy

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

It's when talk turns to "we could do better " that i get really nervous..... that's what gave us the Spire - which while I don't hate it, is distinctly meh IMO.

Its unbelievably meh. But if at first you don't succeed, try again. But don't flog a dead horse either.

Like there is no reason other than NIMBYism that Dublin couldn't do something like the Space Needle in Seattle - give a great view of the city at the top, its an iconic structure. Plus it would generate money so would pay for itself over time, even if it cost 40-50 million or whatever.

Caranica

PhilOssophy wrote: »

I can honestly tell you, I have had lots of people from overseas to Dublin and never once have I said "You have to see these 2 chimneys".

But how many people have seen them from further down the coastline and asked what they were/admired them from a distance? I was down in Sandycove yesterday and it made me smile when I realised i could see them from there.

IngazZagni

Bob Harris wrote: »

I like them but as I've posted before, just repair and give them a lick of paint.

Well this is the whole debate. They are in need of major repairs which will cost millions.

It's 100% Stockholm syndrome and nostalgia that people want these kept. Can you imagine the uproar if these were proposed now? Dublin doesn't have a skyline of note and Dublin City Council continue to try and block us from having a nice skyline so the chimneys are really the only things that represents Dublin from a distance.

Fandymo

They're the perfect metaphor for Dublin city centre. Ugly, outdated, and run down. And thats from a Dub.

0lddog

In my younger days they did not exist.

There was no enthusiasm for them when they were constructed

They are a hazard, need constant maintenance and are unnecessary.

They should be removed

Anyone remember the telecoms deflector that Dept of P & T graced Shielmartin Hill with ? It was put up around the same time as the chimneys. It was removed without debate some time after technology advances made it redundant. The chimneys are redundant, they should now be removed.

Thelonious Monk

Fandymo wrote: »

They're the perfect metaphor for Dublin city centre. Ugly, outdated, and run down. And thats from a Dub.

That's not really fair, lots of Dublin is quite pretty. Including Sandymount and surrounds which is right under their shadow.

odyssey06

PhilOssophy wrote: »

I can honestly tell you, I have had lots of people from overseas to Dublin and never once have I said "You have to see these 2 chimneys".

I see lots of people taking photographs of the towers, especially through the bathing shelters on Bull Island.
They don't all appear to be Dubs.

And someone even painted this:
https://www.endacavanagh.com/product/bull-island-bathing-shelter/

LollipopJimmy

PhilOssophy wrote: »

They can be seen from most many parts of the city - can they? I drive and cycle around many parts of Dublin all the time, and I can't say they feature on my radar!

I'm in D8 and I can see them from Blackhorse Bridge. I'm not really sure why you're being so aggressive in your posting or maybe I'm just taking it that way?

Anyway

https://youtu.be/FvAWAHczOYs

Fandymo

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

That's not really fair, lots of Dublin is quite pretty. Including Sandymount and surrounds which is right under their shadow.

Lots of Dublin is, thats why I specifically said Dublin City Centre. I live in a lovely part of Dublin.

PhilOssophy

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I'm in D8 and I can see them from Blackhorse Bridge. I'm not really sure why you're being so aggressive in your posting or maybe I'm just taking it that way?

Anyway

https://youtu.be/FvAWAHczOYs

I think you are taking it that way - I'm merely contributing to the discussion. And I've proposed an alternative above - I think these are important things to consider, i.e. can we spend the tax payers money better!

Thelonious Monk

Fandymo wrote: »

Lots of Dublin is, thats why I specifically said Dublin City Centre. I live in a lovely part of Dublin.

Most of the South Inner City is quite nice though.

Dyr

VonLuck wrote: »

The only unique thing about them is that they're so prominent in a capital city. No architectural merit.

Very little modern architecture in Dublin has merit

Let start pulling it all down.

I like the stacks, even though they're the wrong colours

Harry Palmr

I'm not front Dublin and love them. They are Dublin's Eiffel Tower!

Dyr

.42. wrote: »

I would prefer Dublin to have a skyline to match Hong Kong, Singapore, NYC, Tokyo, Shanghai, Frankfurt, City of London.

Are you the sort of chap who says "we need to build up" (as opposed to building ground level car parks or subterranean structures one would assume)

I'm pretty sure theres an entry in the cathechism of Irish bores for that.

odyssey06

PhilOssophy wrote: »

I think you are taking it that way - I'm merely contributing to the discussion. And I've proposed an alternative above - I think these are important things to consider, i.e. can we spend the tax payers money better!

If you ask me, we're spending tax payers worse on the bleedin' Spire!

PhilOssophy

odyssey06 wrote: »

If you ask me, we're spending tax payers worse on the bleedin' Spire!

I completely agree, personally I'd get rid of both and do something decent as per earlier post

We have enough awful Instagram updates and amateur photographer tweets of the poxy things to ensure they will never be forgotten. Time to tear them down and repurpose that site for battery storage, wind turbines, solar.

A couple of ugly chimneys are not iconic.