At Home He’s a Tourist
May 31st, 2007 by Sean Baite
Last time I spent a couple of weeks in our over-moneyed wee island, I ended up flying home to France on a Sunday. Consequently, I managed to bury my disgruntlement, on the plane, in that day’s copy of the Observer. Mark E Smith’s analysis is, once again, spot on - this proves me, gan dabht, to be ’self-satisfied….smug…’ - guilty as charged…
In any case, I came across this article just as the plane banked over the remains of Ballymun. It reminded me of the time someone here at Dublin Opinion put up that footage of Gavin Friday slumming it around Ballymun with a Canadian TV crew.
Some indignant shagger in one of the comments stated, as I remember : ‘…the man’s a tourist in Ballymun’.
I believe it was the best Vice President the World Bank never had.
These words have, unfortunately, turned out to be prophetic, for some bright sparks have set up about a dozen of the rooms in one of the soon to be demolished towers as a hotel - the originally named HOTEL BALLYMUN.
You’d better all hurry in making the bookings though - with my speed of reaction of a supertanker (or Gary Breen on speed) the hotel has probably closed up by now.
Uncannily enough, the day I flew back from Dublin (and spotted the article) happened to be April Fool’s Day.
ED: Here’s the vid again of Gavin Friday swaning around Ballymun like a tourist:
All the details about Hotel Ballymun are available here.
The artist Seamus Nolan initiated the project, offering rooms on the 15th floor of the Clark Tower between 31 march and 27 april 2007, after which it was scheduled to be demolished.
This from the about page:
“Guests at Hotel Ballymun will be able to appreciate the spectacular views over Dublin, just weeks before these views cease to exist. Clarke Tower is due for demolition in Spring 2007.
In addition to the nine individually designed, single and double bedrooms there will be a garden room, a tv lounge, communal kitchens, reception area, breakfast and seating area, as well as an intimate conference and events centre.
The rooms will be furnished with one-off pieces, customised and remodelled from existing furniture, which have been designed and made by people from the Ballymun area, during a two month series of workshops with Irish design duo Sticks and recent RCA graduate Jonathan Legge.
A diverse programme of cultural and social events will take place in the Hotel. Yoga, beauty treatments, talks, live art and music performances will take place at the Hotel throughout the day and in the evenings. From 2.00 p.m to 5 p.m daily there will also a chance for the general public to take the lift up to view Hotel Ballymun.
There will be a maximum of twenty places in the audience or for participants, depending on the nature of the event. Booking essential. Admission can not be permitted without a reservation.”
Swanky.
Some of the comments that have been added below the video above on the YouTube site are, er, rather unforgiving.