The Green Party has welcomed the commencement of construction on the long-awaited Central Dublin Library Project.
Speaking following the announcement, Dublin City Councillor and Green Party spokesperson on Arts and Culture, councillor Donna Cooney said “The Green Party has been championing a vision for a Cultural quarter for Parnell Square since the 90’s. The extension and renovation of the Hugh Lane Gallery will provide us with a world-renowned municipal library on our doorstep, which will be protected and enhanced for future generations.”
“This will be an amazing hub of education and creativity with studios and makers hubs for local people and visitors. Dublin city libraries have always been to the front of innovation and this will be an amazing resource,” the Clontarf councillor said.
Cooney, who chairs the arts and culture committee at Dublin City Council, where the project was first suggested in the 1990s.
Green Party Councillor for the North Inner City and Party Chair, Cllr Janet Horner, said that the rejuvenation of Parnell Square now needs to move faster, adding “we will be looking quicker implementation of phase 2 for the removal of traffic from Parnell square the greening of a public plaza connecting Parnell square with the other cultural buildings; Poetry Ireland, the Irish Writers’ Centre, the Gate theatre, the new Dublin City Council Studios on O’Connell Street, the Moore Street National Monument, Moore Street Market, the GPO, and the planned monument to the women of the revolutionary period.”
“This will bring much-needed investment and rejuvenation to this historic and cultural heart of our capital city,” she said.