A Dublin councillor says “we need to do everything we can” to preserve the Poolbeg chimneys.
It comes after it emerged the chimneys may have to be encased in fibreglass or concrete to be preserved.
Responding to a query from Green Party Councillor Claire Byrne, Dublin City Council said such measures may be necessary to ensure the landmarks’ long-term survival.
The council said: “It is accepted that the chimneys, although no longer in use, now have become an iconic feature in the Dublin Skyline.
“The issue is that the stability of the chimneys in the longer term may give rise to the need for the structures to be encased in a new concrete or fibreglass casing. These interventions are likely to alter the appearance and integrity of the structures as originally designed.”
The twin stacks were built in the 1970s, and were decommissioned by the ESB more than 10 years ago.
An ongoing medium-term maintenance programme is expected to ultimately cost several million euro.
Councillor Byrne told Newstalk Breakfast the structures are now a heritage issues, and hopes encasing them wouldn’t lead to ‘too dramatic’ a change.
She said: “Hopefully it could be done in such a way that we may be able to at least maintain them, and repaint the red and white so we’re not completely losing them altogether.
“They’re a bit marmite, let’s be honest, but I think generally we can all agree they’re an iconic part of the landscape of Dublin - they’re fundamentally Dublin.
“It is a real worry when you hear such uncertainty from the ESB about the [chimneys’] future… they do talk a lot about cost, and safety - rightly so.”
While acknowledging such safety concerns, Councillor Byrne said she’d like to see the chimneys placed on the protected structures list.
She said: “If they are on the protected structures list, it means they can’t be taken down - but it can also mean you’re limited with what you can do with them.
“Those things do have to be considered - but ultimately we need to do everything we can to ensure they stay as much as they are.”
She added it’s a heritage issue as much as anything, and people have a ‘huge emotional attachment’ to the iconic chimneys.
