Objections from across the world have been lodged with Dublin City Council against a plan to develop a hotel on the site of the Cobblestone Pub in Smithfield, Dublin.
The Cobblestone Pub is known for its traditional music sessions and support for the arts.
Manager Tomás Mulligan said that the council had received over 100 formal objections, while over 6,000 people had signed an online petition.
“We have until 4th November to get in objections and we’ve just hit over a hundred objections which is absolutely mind blowing to us. They’re coming from all over Dublin, all over Ireland, all over the world.
“And if Dublin City Council decide to pass this - which I don’t see why they would because it’s clearly moved a lot of people - but if they do decide to pass it, then it goes to An Bord Pleanála.
“There’s room to object there and where we will be continuing our fight if we have to.”
News that the pub could lose 70% of its floor space to a new 114 bed hotel brought hundreds of people out onto the street to protest earlier this month. Another one is planning for this Saturday:
“We’re meeting again in Smithfield Square at 2 o’clock - we might have a tune or two.
“There musicians, any patron of the pub, anybody that the pub has meant something to over the years, they’re all invited to come along.
“And after a while we plan on heading towards O’Connell Bridge and the plan is to have a céilí on O’Connell Bridge [with] a few dancers and a lot of musicians playing music.”
'Cultural vandalism'
Joe Costello, Deputy Dublin Mayor and a former TD for the area, told Newstalk when the plans were first announced that they amounted to ‘cultural vandalism’:
"I'm very much opposed to this development, I consider it cultural vandalism, that what we're doing is destroying protected structures.
"And at the same time we're destroying a traditional music centre... this is not the way to go forward with an area as historic as the top of Smithfield.
"We don't need another hotel there - tourists don't want that type of development, they want authenticity, and there's a number of hotels in the area.
"All in all, there's no need for the development of this taking place there.”
Main image: The Cobblestone Pub. Picture by: Tuul and Bruno Morandi / Alamy Stock Photo
