The Government has announced funding to secure the Iveagh Markets in the Liberties after years of neglect.

Essential conservation works will be scheduled with the €9 million from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) for essential conservation works at the Iveagh Markets in Dublin 8.

The complex on Francis Street is a protected structure but has been lying idle and deteriorating since the market closed in 1996.

Dublin City Council proposed to secure the fabric of the structure through essential works  – to halt any further decline.

A future role for the old trading ground is not included in this project, but the works will stabilise the building.

Iveagh Markets, Dublin 8. Picture by: JJ Clarke.

Speaking at the launch, the Minister for Housing and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, said he was "very glad" to be in a position to provide the funding.

"We’ve already seen what URDF funding has accomplished in this area with the fantastic public realm works which have been completed on Francis Street," he said.

"Now using further URDF funds we will be in a position to carry out essential works such as conservation repairs to the roofs and works to stabilise the Diocletian-style arched windows and associated brickwork – all of which are vital to the integrity of the building."

Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform Malcolm Noonan said he hopes the stabilisation of the building will lead to a "participative, community-led process that envisions a thriving future for this iconic building as part of the wider redevelopment of Frances Street and Meath Street".

"The people of the Liberties are rightly proud of their historic market traditions and have a deep sense of place, which the Iveagh Markets have the potential to be emblematic of,” he said.

People browse for second-hand shoes and clothes at the Iveagh Markets in Dublin in 1983. Picture by: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Local Green Party Councillor, Michael Pidgeon said it is excellent news for the Liberties.

"The Iveagh Markets are essentially collapsing – there are rivers and roots of trees swinging around," he said. "It's a real gem for the city.

"I was really worried that it was going to face collapse, but thanks to this funding, we will be able to stabilise the roof, stabilise the building, and ensure that whatever ownership or whatever structure the building takes in the future, it will have a future."

The Iveagh Markets Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The Iveagh Market complex is a protected structure and was developed by the Guinness family in 1907.

There was a clause in the original Deed of Conveyance from 1906, when the markets first opened, that previously allowed Edward Guinness to reclaim the building because it had not been used as a market for a number of years.

The site was repossessed by Mr Guinness in 2020, but in December 2022, he withdrew the provision of security of the Market and Dublin City Council stepped in to secure and monitor the building.