It Was Armageddon For St.Teresa’s Gardens
Yesterday was a sad and desperate day for residents of St. Teresa’s Gardens, Dublin 8, when demolition trucks moved in and removed the last remaining block of flats, block 7. Even though it was Armageddon for St. Teresa’s, it is also a time for new beginnings and residents will soon have new homes to move into.
St. Teresa’s Gardens is one of many regeneration projects in the Liberties, and it has been welcomed by local residents with great anticipation as their neighbourhoods are being uplifted and improved on.
There was a Garden Party held for residents to reminisce on days gone by. Tenants were given an opportunity to add stories to the archive of the UCD archive oral history project, by reliving the years spent in the Gardens.
Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government TD, Simon Coveney and Deputy Lord Mayor, Rebecca Moynihan, was there to witness the demolition, she was saying, “This is a significant moment for current and previous tenants of St. Teresa’s Gardens as they view the demolition of the last of the remaining blocks of their former homes. As this phase of the redevelopment nears completion I want to congratulate the Regeneration Board, Dublin City Council and the Department of Housing , Planning, Community and Local Government for their work over many years in bringing this regeneration to this stage.”
Ten houses and 7 block of flats were demolished at St. Teresa’s Gardens to be replaced by 34 terraced houses, 16 apartments and two refurbished block of flats. The 178 tenants that used to live there were moved to new accommodation while development is taking place.