In his memoir, Seamus Kelly – founder of the Ballymun Concrete News – sets about convincing journalists and publishers of the need for positive news. It’s a hard sell, right now.
From a hole in the kitchen wall to drips from the ceiling, over the years Rita Cahill has catalogued an array of problems with her home, built as part of the Ballymun regeneration.
“There’s a lot of money being spent and we can’t find out what’s happened,” says Una Caulfield of the Griffith Avenue and District Residents’ Association.
Dublin City Council looks set to sell lands near IKEA to a big-box retailer, which could bring more jobs to Ballymun. While welcome, the move again highlights the stagnation of the suburb’s centre.
The area needs a greater mix of incomes, and building a Lidl and a six-storey student accommodation won’t help with that, writes DIT lecturer Odran Reid.
When writers produce material that incorporates or is influenced by their own working-class background, it seems they still face an uphill battle to be recognised, writes Daniel Seery.
But the damage has been done, says Fianna Fáil Councillor Paul McAulliffe. “I’m worried about the chilling effect this will have on investment,” he says.
Local residents are sceptical, wondering why the old shopping centre can’t be revived instead, and remembering all the false promises they’ve been given in the past.
This documentary weaves together candid footage and interviews to build up a story of the regeneration, exploring what was lost as the towers came down.
As Ballymun Town Centre has withered away, it has left area residents with few places to buy basics. Should Dublin City Council just build a shopping centre there itself?
