Councillor welcomes action taken to tackle vacancy and dereliction in historic part of Cork City

Labour Party councillor John Maher has welcomed efforts to address the issue of vacancy and dereliction in the city’s historic Dillons Cross area.

Mr Maher recently tabled a motion at a local area committee meeting of the North-East ward calling on Cork City Council to provide a plan for tackling vacancy and dereliction in the area and to develop a plan “to rejuvenate the area including improved public realm, pedestrian crossings and improved green spaces”.

The council’s director of strategic and economic development, Fearghal Reidy said that efforts are underway to combat dereliction in the Dillons Cross area which he described as a “key gateway to the city centre from the North-East”.

“In recent weeks five properties at Dillons Cross have been placed on the Derelict Sites Register and consideration is being given to the placement of an additional property.

“Cork City Council has been informed that all of the properties recently placed on the register have recently been sold.

“It has been communicated by representatives of the new site owners that plans for re-development of these properties are advanced and Cork City Council will work with the relevant property owners to ensure the timely removal of the dereliction,” he said.

“Public realm improvements are proposed for Dillons Cross under [the] BusConnects programme and further interventions will be examined periodically,” Mr Reidy added.

The progress was welcomed by Mr Maher who told The Echo that the area has been “neglected for far too long”.

“I’m positive following my motion to Cork City Council that we are finally addressing the issue of direction in Dillons Cross.

“It’s been neglected for far too long and we must now see action on the five properties that have been recently purchased.

“Dillons Cross is steeped in history and is a community, a community that Cork City Council must look after,” he said.

Mr Maher said the council should not solely rely on the National Transport Authority (NTA) to rejuvenate the public realm as part of BusConnects.

“I’m pushing for more trees, plants, seating and an improved public realm. 

“We cannot rely just on the NTA but Cork City Council must come up with solutions here.

“My dream would be to see a shop or cafe back in the heart of the Cross. My advice to landowners is ‘build it and we will come’.

“While the response is positive, seeing is believing and I’ll be keeping a very close eye on the progress on turning around dereliction in Dillons Cross,” he said.

Dillons Cross is notably the site of an ambush which lit the spark for the Burning of Cork on the night of December 11-12, 1920.

The Burning of Cork by the Crown forces was in retaliation to an IRA ambush which occurred on December 11 in Dillon's Cross which wounded twelve Auxiliaries, one fatally.

Immediately after the ambush, the Crown forces engaged in harsh reprisals, terrorising the inhabitants of Dillons Cross and burning down six houses. 

Later that night they continued their reprisals in the city centre. Millions of pounds worth of damages were done on that harrowing night.