Dubliners have begun protesting in their hundreds at the potential destruction of the city’s most famous chimneys. The Poolbeg chimneys, which are an instantly recognisable part of the city skyline, could be knocked down by the ESB when the plant closes next year. As the possible demolition date moves closer, online groups have emerged calling for the stacks to be protected on historical grounds
Now there are three separate Facebook groups fighting to save the candy-striped chimneys, one of which has racked up more than 1,000 users. One user wrote: “I would argue that they are of far more aesthetic value than the Spire on O’Connell Street and are among the most iconic structures in Dublin.”
One contributor who has emigrated to London said the structures instantly reminds him of home. He wrote: “I’m now living in London but born and partially raised in Ringsend. I adore those chimneys.” TD Chris Andrews supports their preservation and said that they are not being taken as seriously as they should be. “There is a degree of inverted snobbery about them. They don’t fit into the Georgian/Victorian ideal that is set into the Dublin aesthetic.”
