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THE GUINNESS FAMILY regained possession of the historic Iveagh markets on Monday after years of legal disputes over their future use.
The latest twist in the long-running saga could see him finally restored. That, at least, is the intention of the Guinness family.
Ownership of the markets, built by the Guinness family in 1906, has been disputed before.
Dublin City Council said on Monday night that Edward Guinness, the current Lord Iveagh, had invoked the ‘Reverter’ clause contained in the original 1906 Transfer Deed.
A Council spokesperson said TheJournal.ie that “as the Iveagh Market Building has been out of use as a market for a considerable number of years, Lord Iveagh, in accordance with the terms contained in the deed of assignment, has regained ownership and has notified the Council accordingly.”
“The Council is considering the matter with its legal advisers,” they said.
The locks on the building were changed and new security equipment installed.
‘Old clothes and fish’
Lord Iveagh, Edward Cecil Guinness, set about developing the now iconic red brick structures on Francis Street and Lamb Alley in 1902 to accommodate Dublin’s many street merchants.
There would be “two covered markets for the sale of old clothes and fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, respectively,” according to Christine Casey, professor of architectural history at Trinity College Dublin.
The original estimated cost of the project was about £ 45,000, but it reached £ 60,000 when it was completed in 1906, according to the Irish Georgian Society. The Iveagh Markets opened in 1907.
So early @Arch_Archive The photograph captures the almost completed Iveagh Markets c.1906-7. Notice the first electric lamps suspended from the ceiling supported by cast iron Ionic columns from Tonge & Taggart. The cabinets have overhead lighting and the galleries feature elegant Edwardian glass partitions. pic.twitter.com/1zihlrvcu0
– Dublin Civic Trust (@dubcivictrust) December 8, 2020
For more than 75 years, Iveagh Markets housed a large number of Dublin merchants under a 99-year lease between the Guinness family and the Dublin Corporation.
The Guinness has agreed to lease it to Dublin Corporation as long as it is used solely as a market for the inhabitants of Dublin 8.
However, it gradually decreased.
In the mid-1990s, Dublin City Council said it was looking for a developer to rebuild the ramshackle Iveagh Markets.
Entrepreneur Martin Keane received planning permission for a remodel in 2007 after agreeing to a 500-year lease with DCC in 1997.
However, the planning permission expired in 2017. Keane at the time said he would “go to war” over the building.
Count several years of legal questions about the property amid calls from local councilors to reclaim Iveagh Markets for the local community.
The Local Area Plan (LAP) for Freedoms, adopted by the city council in May 2009 (and extended in 2014 until May 2020), states that Iveagh Markets “with its distinctive character … will become a commercial district of destination when open “.
In December 2019, Keane submitted a new planning request for the market refurbishment. Later, the City Council dismissed it, saying Keane had not received a letter of consent from Dublin City Council for his remodel.
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‘Sorry Saga’
The Dublin Civic Trust has described the Guinness family’s intervention as “the best Christmas present” and said it was a “fascinating change in a sorry saga”.
The locals at The Liberties “were beginning to feel a sense of despair that the markets would be completely lost,” said People Before Profit Councilor Tina MacVeigh. TheJournal.ie.
“This is a bit of hope for them,” he said. “Now we have a conversation again about the Iveagh markets and where we are going.”
A report commissioned by DCC in September 2019 said that more than € 13 million would be required to carry out “essential structural repairs” on the historic red brick structure, which has gradually deteriorated in recent years.
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