New Dublin 7 development re-named to honour local author

A new development on Wellington Street, Dublin 7 will be named Iris Court after councillors objected to the original suggestion that the scheme be named after an Earl with possible connections to the slave trade.

At January’s Central Area Committee meeting, councillors were presented with a possible name for a new 21-apartment development located on Wellington Street.

The name proposed was Gardiner Court, due to its proximity to Blessington Street which is named after the Earl of Blessington, the son of politician Luke Gardiner.

However, Independent councillor Nial Ring objected to the suggestion, and said a more appropriate name for the development should be sought.

Ring says Charles Gardiner, the first Earl of Blessington, who died in 1829, is currently under investigation for his possible connections to the slave trade.

“At this morning’s meeting a new name was suggested – Iris Court – named after Dame Jean Iris Murdoch, Booker Prize winning novelist and philosopher who was born in nearby Blessington Street” he said.

“This name was unanimously accepted, and it is great to know that the city council is listening and that developers are responding to our concerns, although myself and many councillors want more of a direct say in development and street naming in the future,” Ring said.

DCC’s Heritage Officer considered the proposal and found that Iris Court, or Cúirt Iris, was an appropriate name.

“The council’s Irish Office advised that “Cúirt Iris is recommended as an Irish version of Iris Court, unlike Garrán Eileastair/Iris Grove [the name for the flower Iris],” it said.

Ring says there are several streets around Dublin that are named after kings and queens of England, lords, lieutenants, and various noblemen, that should be renamed.

“My fellow councillor Janet Horner has also supported my call for DCC to review street names to ensure there are no other possible links to the slave trade,” he said.

“She has also been to the fore in lobbying for more women to be recognised in street and development naming.

“Meanwhile, I put a request that DCC commission a study to find out if any of those after whom our streets are named had any links to the enslavement of people and, in the reply to my question I am advised that “Officials will consider the scope of the suggested study and how it could be commissioned”.

“I look forward to this being done,” he said.

The council said that such a study “would be a significant undertaking for the city given several key factors.”

These include the number of streets, (more than 4,000), the length of time over which streets were named, and “the range of sources to be identified, consulted and verified, and the complex nature of the issues involved.”