THE CITY ARTS CENTRE IS A DERELICT BUILDING AT THE CORNER OF CITY QUAY AND MOSS STREET
PHOTOGRAPHED 30 JULY 2026
The City Arts Centre: Decades of Dereliction on City Quay
Standing on the corner of Moss Street and City Quay, the former City Arts Centre remains one of Dublin’s most visible instances of urban decay along the south quays.
With its distinctive red-brick corner, yellow band accenting, and grid of broken industrial windows, the structure offers a stark, weathered contrast to the polished glass and steel of the surrounding docklands development.
Roots in the Inner City: From Grapevine to City Quay
The organisation behind the building originated in 1973 as the Grapevine Arts Centre, founded by community activists Jackie Aherne, Anto Fahy, and Sandy Fitzgerald. Established to bring creative space and cultural opportunities to working-class inner-city communities, Grapevine operated out of temporary premises across Mary Street, North Great George's Street, and North Frederick Street.
In 1988, the group acquired the prominent Moss Street site and established the City Arts Centre. Across the 1990s, the building served as a vibrant hub for grassroots visual arts, community theatre, and music rehearsal spaces—with basement facilities notably supported by U2 to assist local emerging bands.
Closure, Fire, and Two Decades of Disuse
Following the withdrawal of Arts Council funding in 2001, the centre closed its doors on Moss Street in 2003.
2003: The property was sold for an estimated €4.25 million to the City Arts Partnership (a consortium including Alanis/the McCormack family, Pierse Construction, and Paddy Kelly).
2007–2012: The City Arts organisation relocated to smaller quarters on Bachelors Walk before voluntarily liquidating in 2012.
2011: A severe interior fire damaged the abandoned Moss Street structure.
2003–2021: The site sat completely derelict, boarded up at street level, and heavily targeted by urban graffiti.
Recent Sales and Planning Struggles
The long-standing stalemate shifted when the site was acquired by Ventaway Ltd, a joint venture vehicle led by developers David Kennan and Barry English.
2022 Proposal: Ventaway submitted planning for a 24-storey, 108-metre high-rise scheme—which would have been the tallest commercial building in Dublin. The proposal included lower-level arts space and a reproduction of the historic neon City Arts sign.
An Bord Pleanála ultimately refused permission due to its visual impact on the historic setting of the nearby Custom House across the river.
Revised Schemes: Subsequent design revisions scaled down the building height while seeking to balance commercial office space with designated ground- and lower-ground cultural facilities.
While the exact timeline for demolition and redevelopment continues to evolve, the corner of Moss Street and City Quay remains a compelling, unvarnished portrait of Dublin's changing dockland identity.
The City Arts Centre: Decades of Dereliction on City Quay
Standing on the corner of Moss Street and City Quay, the former City Arts Centre remains one of Dublin’s most visible instances of urban decay along the south quays.
With its distinctive red-brick corner, yellow band accenting, and grid of broken industrial windows, the structure offers a stark, weathered contrast to the polished glass and steel of the surrounding docklands development.
Roots in the Inner City: From Grapevine to City Quay
The organisation behind the building originated in 1973 as the Grapevine Arts Centre, founded by community activists Jackie Aherne, Anto Fahy, and Sandy Fitzgerald. Established to bring creative space and cultural opportunities to working-class inner-city communities, Grapevine operated out of temporary premises across Mary Street, North Great George's Street, and North Frederick Street.
In 1988, the group acquired the prominent Moss Street site and established the City Arts Centre. Across the 1990s, the building served as a vibrant hub for grassroots visual arts, community theatre, and music rehearsal spaces—with basement facilities notably supported by U2 to assist local emerging bands.
Closure, Fire, and Two Decades of Disuse
Following the withdrawal of Arts Council funding in 2001, the centre closed its doors on Moss Street in 2003.
2003: The property was sold for an estimated €4.25 million to the City Arts Partnership (a consortium including Alanis/the McCormack family, Pierse Construction, and Paddy Kelly).
2007–2012: The City Arts organisation relocated to smaller quarters on Bachelors Walk before voluntarily liquidating in 2012.
2011: A severe interior fire damaged the abandoned Moss Street structure.
2003–2021: The site sat completely derelict, boarded up at street level, and heavily targeted by urban graffiti.
Recent Sales and Planning Struggles
The long-standing stalemate shifted when the site was acquired by Ventaway Ltd, a joint venture vehicle led by developers David Kennan and Barry English.
2022 Proposal: Ventaway submitted planning for a 24-storey, 108-metre high-rise scheme—which would have been the tallest commercial building in Dublin. The proposal included lower-level arts space and a reproduction of the historic neon City Arts sign.
An Bord Pleanála ultimately refused permission due to its visual impact on the historic setting of the nearby Custom House across the river.
Revised Schemes: Subsequent design revisions scaled down the building height while seeking to balance commercial office space with designated ground- and lower-ground cultural facilities.
While the exact timeline for demolition and redevelopment continues to evolve, the corner of Moss Street and City Quay remains a compelling, unvarnished portrait of Dublin's changing dockland identity.