The Irish Times

Architects are normally quite gracious about the results of a design competition, even though they've burned the midnight oil and then end up with nothing to show for it. But for several of those who had their eyes on Abbotstown, losing out has been a bitter pill to swallow. Epithets such as "favouritisimo", "cronyism" and "nepotism" are being bandied about, and at least seven leading architectural practices have formally written to Sports Campus Ireland (SCI) - the state company set up to plan the "Bertie Bowl" et al - seeking an explanation for their exclusion from the selected panels. It may seem like a case of sour grapes, but there can be no doubt that egos have been bruised; this was inevitable when such established firms as RKD, Henry J Lyons and Partners, Gilroy McMahon, O'Mahony Pike, Anthony Reddy and Associates and Andrej Wejchert were told that they hadn't made the cut.