Fatima Mansions (housing)

Fatima Mansions is an extensive public housing complex located in Rialto, Dublin. In the early 21st century, it underwent a substantial urban renewal programme with the assistance of public and private funding.[1] All existing apartment blocks were demolished to make way for 600 accommodation units, consisting of social, affordable and private housing along with community, business and leisure facilities at a cost of €200 million.[2] The blocks have since been renamed Herberton Apartments, but the area is still referred to locally as Fatima, which is the name of the adjacent Luas Red Line tram stop.

This article is about the housing complex. For the musical group, see The Fatima Mansions.
Fatima Mansions
General information
LocationRialto, Dublin, Ireland
StatusDemolished and rebuilt under Public Private Partnership between 2004 and 2007.
Construction
Constructedlate 1930s-1947

History

Work on the original complex started before World War II under the direction of Dublin Corporation (now Dublin City Council) but construction was held up due to material shortages. The first phase of construction was finally completed after the war and the first tenants began to move in in 1947: the development consisted of fifteen blocks, each of four floors in height. They replaced tenement housing for the area's working-class residents, and provided a great improvement in living conditions.[3] In the mid 1980s the area became notorious for its high levels of heroin use and drug dealing,[4] which eventually led to the original complex's demolition due to the drug problem's severity.

The Fatima Mansions were an Irish art rock group named after the flats.

References
  1. "Fatima Groups United". The Ireland Funds. 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  2. "Housing Regeneration Projects". Dublin City Council. c. 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
  3. Corcoran, Mary P. (2006). "Re-Imagining the Built Environment - Place, Community and Neighborhood in the City of Dublin". In Andrew Higgins Wyndham (ed.). Re-imagining Ireland. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy. University of Virginia Press. pp. 176–182. ISBN 978-0-8139-2544-8. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  4. Byrne, Shay (2007). The miracle of Fatima Mansions: an escape from drug addiction. Dunboyne: Maverick House Publishers. pp. ?. ISBN 978-1-905379-40-8.


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