The Iveagh Markets
The Iveagh Markets were built early in the last century by the Guinness family to house street traders who had been displaced by the construction of the nearby Iveagh Trust housing development on Patrick Street, and was handed over in trust to Dublin Corporation.
By the 1980s the building had become very rundown and eventually closed in the 1990s. In 1996, the council announced it was seeking a private developer to regenerate the market. The following year, Temple Bar hotelier Martin Keane secured the tender, with an agreement that the title of the market would transfer to him once the redevelopment was completed.
The redevelopment has yet to start and the building is now in a ruinous condition and legal disputes as to its ownership are ongoing.
The council has agreed to undertake structural safety works to the building and said it is currently evaluating tenders for a design team to oversee “essential stabilisation works”. Repairs to the roof and walls are due to start next year that will secure the structural fabric of the building and allow for the development of reuse proposals going forward.
[ The Iveagh Markets: can a former Dublin glory be saved? ]
The council said it was still involved in a number of legal proceedings in relation to the Iveagh Markets and could not comment further. Mr Keane did not respond to queries. Funding of €9 million for essential conservation work to halt the structural decline of the Iveagh Markets in Dublin’s Liberties was approved by the Government this week.
Olivia Kelly
Victorian fruit and vegetable market
Dublin’s Victorian fruit and vegetable market on Mary’s Lane, between Capel