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ACTORS AND ARTISTS have held a protest outside a landmark building associated with James Joyce, over plans to turn it into a tourist hotel.
There were hopes that the ‘House of the Dead’ would be turned into a cultural shared space, however permission was granted by An Bord Pleanala for it to be turned into a 54-bed tourist hostel.
The property, at 15 Usher’s Island, is the setting for James Joyce’s famous short story The Dead, often acclaimed as one of the greatest short stories ever written.
It was originally owned by Joyce’s grand-aunts and is now a site of international cultural and literary significance.
Campaigners say it will be a huge loss to the cultural landscape of Dublin.
Actors involved in today’s protest included Oscar-nominee Stephen Rea and actors from the original John Huston film The Dead. Rachael Dowling and Maria Hayden also took part in the protest.
A letter from Academy Award-winner Anjelica Huston was also read out on the steps of the house.
Katie O’Kelly, a playwright and actor, said: “I think The Dead speaks for itself – the language in it is so beautiful.
“It’s a perfect snapshot of a Dublin at that time. I think it’s so sad to lose this building. The story has survived for 200 years.
“It’s going to be turned into a tourist hostel which I feel is like a metaphor for what is happening in this city.
“It is like the heart being ripped out to make way for a modern development.”
Dowling said it was the first film she appeared in.
“I was very young and it was shot in California in a stage and the interior of this glorious house was beautifully recreated,” Dowling added.
“It was lovingly and beautifully re-created. This site here is still with us, it’s not deconstructed. What we have is glorious icon.
“For anyone to come here, to the site of perhaps the greatest ever written story, it feels like a no-brainer to preserve it.”
Donal O’Kelly, playwright and actor, said: “This house has been very close to my heart ever since I read the story.
“It’s set in this very building. It’s like a microcosm of Irish life at the time at the turn of the 20th century.
“It would be a fantastic thing to preserve this. I would prefer this to be a public space where ideas could be expressed.”
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I’m sure they could club together and buy it.
Be ashame if they turned that historic building into a hotel ….As if theres not enough hotels in town !!
Fair play to them, hopefully they get a favorable response
New use will bring it to life, perhaps it has been dead for so long because so few of our cultural or theatre ‘elities’ chose to live in the heart of Dublin City…O Kelly (Leitrim), Rhea (Donegal)…..not that they have to…BUT…maybe there is some link re demand for use…..also amusing to watch the Semi-D suburban ‘bloomsday’ crowd annually parade around the streets of inner city Dublin’s Ulysses or The Dead but wouldn’t dare dream themselves of living in that same inner city…..the irony. I think (the emigrant) Joyce would favour the cacophony of (international) youth to fill the building then the hollow calls ffrom an anti-urban elite…
@Paul Kearns: Stephen Rhea lives in Donabate… Not the heart of Dublin… But still Dublin.
House of the bunk bed
Let’s move with the times and use the space to bring in tourism. There can be a plaque on the wall etc . Let’s move on
Surely a tourist hotel would be an ideal “cultural shared space”.
Tourist destination either way!!!!
Has there been a review of the agenda of An Bord Pleanála? Seems they want to shift Dublin construction projects into co-living spaces or hotels.
The state and its people shouldn’t lose the memory.
It’s a great shame, like there’s not thousands of other derelict buildings all over the place. There’s little enough history left in our city with these ugly spiralling buildings popping up to accommodate the modern sector. Leave what’s left alone.
No doubt if this went to a public vote we would happily sell it to whoever brings the largest suitcase of ‘shiny’ to the car boot sale! LOL!… This epitomises us ‘Irish’ really, more interested in a fast ‘buc’ than cultural heritage.
It is just the relic of a house in a short story. If it is turned into a hostel then up to 54 people will be encouraged to read the short story and imagine themselves at the party. Better a living, breathing space than another dead memorial.
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