The Irish Times

It is, at first, rather shocking to learn that a branch of the Ann Summers sex-shop chain is to open shortly on O'Connell Street, directly across the street from the GPO, the once-sacred spot where Patrick Pearse proclaimed the Republic on Easter Monday, 1916. If someone possessed of supernatural foresight had told Pearse and his comrades of such an eventuality - surely unimaginable to such men at such a time - would they have called the whole thing off? In the spring of 1998 of the O'Connell Street Integrated Area Plan raised hopes that the fortunes of the area were on the rise again. The plan envisages a series of improvements, including the widening of the footpaths to accommodate pavement cafés, a new civic space in front of the GPO, the renewal of a number of key sites, and the provision of high-quality street furniture. The linch-pin of the plan is to be the controversial Millennium Spire - whose strongly vertical lines may now acquire unintended overtones. While admirable in theorysuch schemes are largely a waste of time while the type of retail activity in O'Connell Street - the key factor in setting the appearance and tone of the thoroughfare - remains largely beyond the scope of the Corporation's powers. Has anyone in Government thought about this?