Traditional Dublin coddle was dished out from a large pot mounted on a street trader's pram in Upper O'Connell Street at lunchtime yesterday, to mark the official opening of the first of a new generation of stylish, modern taxi shelters.
It is planned to provide 37 similar shelters altogether throughout the city at no cost to the public purse. Although the total investment is put at around £500,000, it is all being funded by Adshel, a division of the multinational Moore Group.
Under its contract with Dublin Corporation, Adshel will also be responsible for maintaining the new glass and stainless steel shelters, which were designed in London by Mr Kenneth Grange, a leading industrial-product designer.
As the Mike Neilson Quartet played jazz, the Lord Mayor, Cllr Mary Freehill, cut the red ribbon and declared the first new shelter open for business. She said it looked marvellous and would be an attractive amenity for O'Connell Street.
Ms Kirsti O'Sullivan, executive director of Adshel, said the shelter would look even better at night-time because it is illuminated by blue uplighters set in the street surface. It would also be fitted with two telephone boxes as soon as possible.
The payoff for Adshel is the advertising panel at one end, visible from a wide area. Its own logo is remarkably discreet compared to the corporation's name and insignia, emblazoned on every glass panel; even corporation officials thought it was over the top.
Mr Tom Coffey, director of the Dublin City Centre Business Association, said the city deserved quality facilities, including more taxis, and he saw the new shelter as "a very welcome little pebble in the building blocks of the new O'Connell Street".
Nobody could say how many people would be able to squeeze into the shelter on a rainy night. But Mr John Usher, of the Taxi Federation, said that with 3,000 more taxis due to be added to the city's fleet, the shelter would end up being used by taxi-drivers waiting for passengers.
