- Dermot Desmond had the vision to create the financial services centre backed by the City Council and Government at the time
- Galway in particular has the greatest number of companies in the pharma industry in the world due to the vision of their county council to pitch hard at the time and create tax incentives to come to Galway
- The tech industry giants transformed Grand Canal Dock and Maynooth to mention just two areas
- Our horse industry is the greatest in the world due to the vision of a few people on how to make it this way
- Our agricultural industry is the envy of most in the world
- We have had some of the best music bands and individuals across all forms of music conquer the world of music
In Dun Laoghaire,
- We once had the best creative animation industry in the world which brought a great income to the town and County Council. The animation industry not only boosted the local economy but also fostered a vibrant community of artists and storytellers. With studios bustling and characters coming to life, the town became a hub for innovation and imagination. Children and adults found joy in the animated worlds crafted right in their backyard, making it a place where creativity thrived.
- Now it is time for Dun Laoghaire to have a thriving industry again; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for that to happen with Holograms.
The Dome in Las Vegas is phenomenal, to see U2 perform there was a never-to-be-forgotten experience BUT it will rarely happen again if ever, and future generations will never see it
ABBA Voyage in a very few years is now one of London’s leading tourist attractions generating a huge annual turnover. ELVIS Evolution will be with us next year and Roy Orbison sold out at the 3 Arena
I was fortunate to see ABBA live in their hey-day when they performed here in the RDS, and the recreation of their concert in London using holograms was sensational
In my submission (below) I highlighted the fact that Dun Laoghaire should create a similar ABBA auditorium (perhaps using their blueprint) it may be a bit smaller but a place where the best of Irish and international performers can be seen past, present, and future.
Georges Place and Kelly’s Avenue buildings in conjunction with land beside the Ferry terminal
The buildings in question would be perfect for creating this industry, creating holograms and concerts for the music venue, the sort of concerts can be tailor-made for the 50 cruise ships that arrive annually when people board they could be given a choice on the cruise ship app what concert would they like to see in the Dun Laoghaire auditorium, shows would be of 60-90 minute length and be an immersive all around experience
U2 (their different concert shows could all be recreated), the Boomtown Rats, BoysZone, Westlife, the Chieftains, Daniel O’Donnell, or internationally Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams, the Stones, the Boss etc etc all these can be created and created in Dun Laoghaire.
This would be best done while the artists are alive hence the attraction for U2
The luxury hotel would be rebuilt for the performers and their entourage when they are here, the smaller building could be used for admin for this huge project, and the stage and everything else would be set up and built/created in the old fire station.
All could then be trialed out in the auditorium down the road
The money for this project I’m sure could be secured, it will bring millions to Dun Laoghaire and global attention to the town.
AI, Augmented reality, and Holograms — this is the future to be grasped now.
Finance?
Where the money came for the Lexicon may be an area to be sought again. U2 themselves may be very keen to become involved financially as well as creatively when putting together their concerts for future generations to see.
Bob Geldof who grew up a mile away from this project may be interested,
Before somewhere else jumps on this concept Dun Laoghaire should act immediately, The land for the auditorium is there, and the buildings for the accommodation are beside it as is the building to create it all.
A project company has to be employed to put this whole concept together, The financial deals to be done for remuneration to DLRCOCO.
This project will produce substantial money for DLRCOCO unlike the Lexicon which is a drain on financial resources
I would hope DLRCOCO supported by our Government and those mentioned above has the vision like those in the past that I mentioned at the top of this email to turn Dun Laoghaire into the innovative music hub of the world
Dun Laoghaire is under 30 minutes away from O’Connell bridge by DART thus making it very accessible for tourists to make the journey out to spend their money in the town.
Its approximately the same distance between Times Square NYC and Wall Street !
The area at the ferry terminal should be the focus point and a major tourist attraction should be developed for this purpose.
By tourist, I refer to:
· Those traveling from abroad to Ireland/Dublin
· Those day trippers arriving by cruise liners
· Our own Irish people (or to be more specific families)
Option 1 U2 Hologram Concert amongst other Irish and International Music Acts
I would encourage you to go and experience ABBA Voyage in London. Within three years it has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in the UK.
I believe DLRCOCO should approach U2 to become involved in creating a similar concept that will permit future generations to come and experience a U2 concert. U2 are acknowledged as one of the world’s biggest bands of all time and people travel from all over the Globe to see them. NOW is the time to do this while all band members are alive and capable of creating this (as ABBA have done)
I believe that they would be prepared to finance this!
The location is ideal beside the DART from town and close to where cruise ships come in. This attraction could be heavily promoted on future cruise ships to the town.
I believe an ‘arrangement’ could be arrived at where DLRCOCO would make a percentage of every ticket sold thus providing the Council with a substantial income into the future….. and perhaps the building could be used to show similar hologram experiences like the Roy Orbison one that sold out the 3 Arena or indeed maybe a Joe Dolan show amongst others could be created in Dun Laoghaire?
If a decision is made to try and get the U2 project off the ground a trip to Sweden would be required to discover how the whole ABBA hologram project was created. I believe the old fire station building on Georges Place could be transformed into a huge studio for this purpose that would employ a lot of people to create holograms of many in the music industry following on from the ‘success’ of this U2 project.
Presuming you are ambitious enough to see this vision of the future the whole thing could bring many jobs with it and these people would spend money in the town.
ALTERNATIVELY ….. Option 2
Due to Irish weather, I envisage the tourist attraction being in a large circular building containing a few floors with escalators and lifts to each floor.
The tourist attraction must be family-friendly and an investigation into the world’s top attractions should be done and then the project put out to tender — I believe something incorporating virtual reality and augmented reality concepts is what would appeal best
This tourist concept may be eligible for European funding (re the DLR library) and would be the gateway to attracting people to the town as when they leave they could be encouraged to see something unique about shopping in our town (more about that later)
On one floor could be a 360-degree cinema experience and the top floor could have a coffee shop and restaurant with 180% views out to sea and the other 180% would contain a fantastic fish tank with attractive tropical fish
THE DEVELOPMENT OF DUN LAOGHAIRE TOWN
Having drawn people to the town with the tourist attraction they now have to be persuaded to go up to the town to spend their money.
For this to happen Dun Laoghaire needs a unique offering …
If one goes to the Ploughing championship, Bloom, Taste of Dublin and many other events there are people with Irish food products and Irish fashion exhibiting at them. A lot of these people do not have outlets for their products, many can’t get on supermarket shelves or can afford to open shops to display what they have.
As the shops in Dun Laoghaire are owned by individuals and not the County council, the County council should create a big indoor venue where all these producers and designers can exhibit and sell what they have.
Dun Laoghaire has some suitable buildings for this purpose namely those on Georges Place and perhaps also the old Senior college. I believe they could be considered for an indoor market similar to the English market in Cork
Description of the English market which Dun Laoghaire should replicate
Cork’s iconic English market has been trading since 1788. One of the oldest and certainly the best covered market in Europe, it has survived famine, flood, war, fires, and multiple recessions to remain a strong part of Cork’s retail environment.
“…the stomach and soul of Cork city, it provides nourishment for both… It’s great to have a chat and to look into the eyes of the person selling to you. The market is a true gem…” – Ross Lewis: Chapter One
Significant to the City as a commercial asset, the building is also architecturally significant so is valued as a heritage and tourist attraction.
Renowned as a food market, it is an important part of food culture in Cork, with an emphasis on fresh, local produce with traditional Cork foods as well as an array of international delights.
The stallholders are local and independent food producers or retailers, often with generations of families working in the Market. The traditional serve-over-counter stall trading also ensures that the service to the customer is personal and unique.
The reputation and history of the market has attracted thousands visitors each year – heads of state, celebrities and tourists from across the globe have come to see the market.
Addendum
The Forty Foot and Bullock harbour should be developed and promoted together as one of Ireland’s leading attractions (like the Cliffs of Moher) as something for tourists to experience.
Millions of people from around the world have never even seen the sea whatever about swimming in it or fishing or going out in a small boat.
Being so close to Dublin city centre the Forty Foot area should be made conducive for anyone to come and swim. A proper shop with cheap swimming costumes for sale as well as swimming aids to help people keep afloat. About 20 single room changing rooms and showers could be built that people can rent for 20 minutes for say 2 Euro.
Bullock harbour should be well sign-posted and promoted as a place where you can be taken in a small boat out on the sea and depending on the season do some fishing or just a pleasure trip for an hour
Access – car parking for this whole area is a major problem at the moment and this is only going to get worse. Those travelling by car from the country and greater Dublin for a swim should be able to get to the area and park quite close by. In this regard I suggest coming off the N11 towards the Graduate pub and directed along Avondale Rd then straight through the roundabout at the end of the road down a one-way Albert Rd to traffic lights at Elton park/Hudson Rd where they can park in an underground car park there under the park. There would be a way out on the other side of the park where cars go up a one-way Adelaide Rd and at the top turn left back to the roundabout and up Avondale Rd.
In the Netherlands (to mention one country) large car parks are built under parks like this.
This may sound a bit too much but if we are to look to the future 50 years from now, developments like this should be happening.
Q. Might European money be available for this project? — a new tourist attraction for those that live inland in Europe or America that would like to swim or go out on a small boat in the Irish sea