Protesters Halt Construction Work At ‘Historic’ Anglo Site

CONSTRUCTION works taking place at the site of one of Ireland’s foremost unfinished building developments has ground to a halt after a group of protesters chained themselves to machinery, claiming that the area has significant historical value.

The Docklands site in Dublin city, which was at one time supposed to be the new headquarters of the once-mighty Anglo Irish Bank, is currently being reworked into a new building which will house the Central Bank from 2016 on.

For many years, the skeletal frame of the proposed Anglo Irish building had been one of the crowning achievements of the Celtic Tiger era, and stood as a monument to the people who lived during those times.

After planning permission was granted in 2014 to develop the building into a spacious, open-plan office block, many protest groups were vocal in their opposition, claiming that the ruins of what would have been the jewel in the Anglo Irish crown should be left untouched, to remind us of that decadent age.

“They’re destroying a piece of history,” said Seamus Hanlon, currently chained to a pallet of cement at the building site. “If we leave them to it, soon there won’t be anything left to remind us of the age of Anglo. This unfinished building is a monument, and should be preserved as such”.

Hanlon’s interview was cut short, as he was batton-charged by Gardaí in riot gear.