Sir, – The ESB in its wisdom has decided to convert the Georgian House Museum to luxury flats (Olivia Kelly, "ESB seeks to turn museum into luxury apartments for sale", News, January 25th).
The Georgian House Museum was introduced to the city in 1991 as part of an agreement with the city council to exceed plot ratios in the ESB’s headquarters around the corner in Fitzwilliam Street.
Perhaps the museum was of some small compensation to the city, perhaps a pang of guilt even, following the demolition of 16 Georgian houses to build the ESB headquarters and losing forever the longest stretch of Georgian buildings in the world during the 1960s.
As another new ESB headquarters emerges on this site, one with even greater plot ratios – so much so that half the site was sold to an investor for €180 million and let to a tech firm – the ESB makes yet another affront to the city by shutting this museum and redeveloping the museum building for luxury flats. No doubt bringing in more revenue and earning further management bonuses.
Perhaps the ESB could use some of their newly found wealth to provide an art installation for outside their new headquarters to say something of its attitude to the city and its heritage.
A sculpture of two fingers, perhaps? – Yours, etc,
RORY J WHELAN,
Drogheda,
Co Meath.