Oliver Bond Flats (Apartments) in Dublin 8.
Over the next few weeks I am going to feature some of the different types of housing in Dublin and also other parts of Ireland. When I go abroad I always marvel at how different people's homes are in other countries compared to what I am used to seeing in Ireland. For instance last year I visited Polska and saw these amazing huge timber houses, all along the main road outside Krakow as I traveled to Lódz by coach. They were unlike anything you would see in Ireland. In Lódz I saw massive high rise blocks of social housing apartments with Soviet era type architecture, probably dating from the 1950's.
I am starting this project with a look at Oliver Bond - a social housing scheme near the river Liffey on Dublin's southside. And although they may look idyllic in the photos the "flats"(Dublin people don't call them apartments - and also the "t" is silent) are synonymous with social problems, drug abuse, lack of facilities, overcrowding, unemployment and generally a lack of opportunity for it's residents. The Flats are built in blocks, usually with eight homes on every level - ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There are no lifts, so you can imagine how difficult it must be for someone with small children living on the top level.
(Oliver Bond was a revolutionary member of the United Irishmen, who had the objective of ending British rule in Ireland. But he was betrayed, arrested and died in prison in 1798.)
Over the next few weeks I am going to feature some of the different types of housing in Dublin and also other parts of Ireland. When I go abroad I always marvel at how different people's homes are in other countries compared to what I am used to seeing in Ireland. For instance last year I visited Polska and saw these amazing huge timber houses, all along the main road outside Krakow as I traveled to Lódz by coach. They were unlike anything you would see in Ireland. In Lódz I saw massive high rise blocks of social housing apartments with Soviet era type architecture, probably dating from the 1950's.
I am starting this project with a look at Oliver Bond - a social housing scheme near the river Liffey on Dublin's southside. And although they may look idyllic in the photos the "flats"(Dublin people don't call them apartments - and also the "t" is silent) are synonymous with social problems, drug abuse, lack of facilities, overcrowding, unemployment and generally a lack of opportunity for it's residents. The Flats are built in blocks, usually with eight homes on every level - ground, 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There are no lifts, so you can imagine how difficult it must be for someone with small children living on the top level.
(Oliver Bond was a revolutionary member of the United Irishmen, who had the objective of ending British rule in Ireland. But he was betrayed, arrested and died in prison in 1798.)
2 comments:
What an absolutely splendid idea! You are so correct, I to often think that the difference in house styles is amazing when I travel. In the south for example they have shutters for windows, something that is very exotic to me and so significant of warm climate.
Interesting that you have been in Poland, the culture there is similar to my roots.;))
Great post. I get sentimental when I visit you. Not to mention homesick.
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