Sandymount

AUGUST 2023 VISIT TO THE AREA

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To be honest, even though I undertook freight forwarding work for the Irish Glass Bottle Company in the 1970s I never really knew where the factory was located until I passed by the site today. As for Sean Moore Road I would describe it as ugly and unattractive.

Almost 20 years after the closure of the Irish Glass Bottle factory, the potential of the site is finally to be realised with the development of Glass Bottle – a vibrant waterfront community strategically located between Dublin City and Dublin Bay.

The creation of this new urban quarter will be see the transformation of approximately 15 hectares of a former industrial site into an integrated and vibrant neighbourhood with a balanced mix of residential, offices, retail, hotels, cultural and community facilities, leisure, restaurants, bars and open-air public amenity space within walking distance of Dublin City Centre.

At the heart of Glass Bottle will be approximately 3,800 new homes, providing housing for up to 9,500 people including 10% social housing and 15% affordable housing.

Ardagh Group is a Luxembourg-based producer of glass and metal products that has grown in the past two decades into one of the world’s largest metal and glass packaging companies. Founded in 1932 as the Irish Glass Bottle Company in Dublin, the company expanded through a series of acquisitions after Paul Coulson acquired an initial stake in the company in 1998. In North America, the company currently operates two of the oldest continuously operated glass container plants in the country: Dunkirk, Indiana, opened in 1889, and Winchester, Indiana, opened in 1898. It purchased Rockware Glass in 1999. In 2011, it purchased the metal packaging company Impress Group for €1.7 billion and Fi Par for €125 million. In August 2012, the company acquired Anchor Glass Container Corporation for $880 million. In January 2013, Ardagh Group agreed to acquire St-Gobain’s Verallia North America for €1.3 billion. In 2012 it purchased the Rexam Glass Division. The company launched an initial public offering (IPO) in March 2017 on the New York Stock Exchange, raising just over $300 million. In 2022 Ardagh Group successfully concluded its strategic acquisition of Consol Glass, Africa now known as Ardagh Glass Packaging – Africa.

In July 2021 Dublin City Council in conjunction with the National Transport Authority proposed to provide cycle facilities along Sean Moore road to provide a safe cycle route between Pigeon House Road and the GAA club and Sean Moore Park. Back then there were no cycling facilities on Sean Moore Road.

The main aim of this scheme is to provide protected, safe and continuous cycling for all ages and abilities along the route.

Key points:

• Two way segregated cycle route between Pigeon House Road and a Toucan Crossing at Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA club
• Bollard protection southbound cycle lane to be provided
  Staggered pedestrian crossings to be replaced with single direct movement Toucan crossings and guardrails to be removed
• No changes to traffic movements, large hatched median to be removed and vehicle lanes realigned
• New kerb protection to be trialled using “RediKerb”, the same kerb that has been used for footpath extensions for outdoor dining.
• There will be an inner and outer kerb with a 300mm wide asphalt median between them.
• Potential advantages include install time, no excavations required and flexibility depending on site locations.

Seán Moore (19 May 1913 – 1 October 1986) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician.

Moore was born in Dublin in 1913 and grew up in Irishtown, Dublin. He was educated at the Vocational School in Ringsend and University College Dublin where he received a diploma in Social and Economic Science. He worked as an official with the Alliance and Dublin Consumers’ Gas Company before becoming involved in politics. Moore first held political office in 1950 when he was elected to Dublin City Council, a position he would hold until 1979. He served as Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1963 to 1964. Moore was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) on his third attempt at the 1965 general election, representing the Dublin South-East constituency in the 18th Dáil.

In 1979 Charles Haughey came to power and Moore became Government Chief Whip. His health declined during this period, so much so that the Assistant Chief Whip, Bertie Ahern, was doing most of Moore’s work. He served in that position until Fianna Fáil lost power at the 1981 general election and remained in the Dáil until he lost his seat at the February 1982 general election. He fought one further general election in November 1982 but failed to be elected, and subsequently retired from politics.

Seán Moore Road and Seán Moore Park near Irishtown are named after him.

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