OPPOSITION TO A former Garda station in Dublin’s Whitehall being converted into a mortuary has been expressed by a number of councillors.
In an objection sent to the Office of Public Works (OPW) last week, Sinn Feín councillor Cathleen Carney Boud objected to the development.
It was felt that the building is not suitable for use as a mortuary, and that, “to accommodate a city mortuary, the building would need extensive refurbishment and any major alterations to the building would be in breach of the preservation orders”.
The building is a listed structure and is located on the corner of Griffith Avenue in Whitehall.
Earlier in the week, Boud put forward a motion to the North West Area Committee stating that the building should be used for other purposes.
Local residents have also expressed their opposition to the use of this listed building as a mortuary.
Other parties
Local Fine Gael councillor Noel Rock, who wrote to the OPW last year about the issue, said:
I voiced my concerns about the compatibility as far back as 2013 when this was first announced, and that while this motion is welcome, it’s far too late to have a practical impact given the process has moved along and tenders for the project are now listed.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie about the development, Fianna Fáil councillor Paul McAuliffe expressed feelings that the premises could be put to better use – but that care was required as to what the building was purposed for.
“[At a recent Area Committee Meeting] I did strike a note of caution that there are less desirable uses for the building – a pub or a nightclub – so while I am questioning the use as a coroner’s office or a mortuary, we need to be cautious we don’t end up with something worse,” said McAuliffe.
Suggested uses
It was suggested by Boud that the building should be used for “the establishment of community resource facilities”.
On this McAuliffe said, ”Perhaps someone like Home Farm Football Club using it could be explored. They are just next door. But they would have to have some sort of plan. It can’t just be a community hall – it needs to have some structure.”
In Finglas, the Office of Public Works assigned the old Finglas Garda Station as a community childcare facility. There was some difficulty in renovating it, but it was a good example of a community use with a structure – and maybe something similar could be done with Whitehall.
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