Papers of James Meenan – Move of UCD to Belfield

8 U.C.D. and the Future

Indeed, quite close to the College, the whole area south of Harcourt Road stretching to the Canal and extending from Peter's Place to Charlemont Street is essentially an area in poor condition which will have to be cleared and the inhabitants rehoused either elsewhere or in flats on the same site.

Further, the shopping streets within this general area, Merrion Row, Lr. Leeson Street, Charlemont Street, are of relatively low value as compared with principal shopping streets in a capital city -- a consideration, if any such streets had to be acquired for university expansion.

It is not of course suggested that the public squares named above should be built on, but that buildings in their vicinity should gradually be acquired for university and other cultural and educational requirements.

Misleading Comparisons

In its Report (p.34) the Commission says -- 'in the English and Danish universities we visited we found that the authorities were dealing with problems similar to that of Dublin.' The universities visited were Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham, Reading, and in Denmark, Copenhagen and Aarhus. The commission also made use of information supplied by the universities in Wales, Edinburgh, Exeter, Liverpool, Sheffield and Southampton. We believe that it is misleading to assert that the problem in Dublin is similar to that in these cities. Only one capital city was visited -- Copenhagen -- where the old university was situated in the densely built-up old part of the city. In this case we are told also (Report p. 34) that 'details of the area of the sites of the University of Copenhagen are not yet available to the Commission.' Aarhus is a provincial University of 1800 students.

The conditions in the British industrial cities bear no comparison with those in Dublin. A description written about those very universities mentioned by the Commission -- 'buildings frequently dingy and cramped and sometimes sordid, set in an environment of smoke and slums' -- could never be applied to Dublin. Overcrowding of incompleted buildings we have -- and that can be relieved on the present sites -- but sordidness and smoke and slums we most decidedly have not in our general university area.

In none of the cities mentioned by the Commission is there a cultural and educational complex such as we have in the university area of Dublin. Those few British universities which are moving out to a campus site in the suburbs are in no case leaving an area which houses a second university with a worldfamous copyright library, a National Library, Gallery and Museum and the headquarters of so many professional institutes.

Dublin's great good fortune in the matter of its centrally situated university area has frequently been the subject of envious comment. We have quoted two such recent comments in our Appendix J.

Further, as the authorities of U.C.D. have frequently pointed out, the College may be regarded as the direct successor of Newman's Catholic University. The present site is associated both with Newman's effort and other Irish aspirations after university education.

Taking the above facts together, a university in any other capital Dublin|city would

Dublin's University Area 9

consider itself very fortunate in having such opportunities for development, nor would powers of compulsory purchase be denied to it, if required.

The Cultural and Educational Complex

The existence of the many institutions in this area must be taken into account:

1. The principal museums, galleries, and the National Library. 2. Trinity College, Dublin. 3. Various other cultural, professional and educational bodies (e.g. Institute for Advanced Studies, Catholic Central Library, Royal Irish Academy, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Surgeons, Royal Institute of Architects, Royal Society of Antiquries). 4. Several university hostels, under Catholic ecclesiastical control (see Appendix D for a list). 5. A great deal of other property under esslesiastical and/or educational control. Much of this consists of schools inadequately housed in converted dwelling houses and falling below modern standards and requirements for such schools (See Appendix D.) 6. The Houses of the Oireachtas, which are inadequately provided for, and Government offices which are expanding.

This whole complex of Government, university, cultural and educational establishments should be considered as a whole and no one aspect of it (such as the needs of U.C.D.) can be properly studied without taking into consideration all the factors involved in the planning of this area. One can, however, say straight away that to dismember this complex, by removing U.C.D. from it, is the least happy of solutions.

If the removal of U.C.D. from the area presented a final solution to the other conflicting problems that exist within it, then there would be that much extra to recommend the move. But it does not present such a solution. Now is the time to ask what is the final solution to be aimed at in providing adequately for the needs of:

The Houses of the Oireachtas The Government departments The National Museums and Gallery The National Library The National College of Art The Institute for Advanced Studies The many schools in the area Trinity College

Government Offices

One possible solution to many of these problems would be a Government decision to remove the Houses of the Oireachtas and at least some of the Government offices to another site. Kilmainham has often been mentioned, and the site there is large enough to provide for a single solution. The difficulty