Local elections candidate Thyes Kavanagh (FF) says that the Council are not ambitious enough with their plans for St Dominic’s Hall – “The Old Post Office” in Tallaght village. “This building is a devastating loss to the volunteer groups who have used it for a great many years. The Dominicans have been very kind to the community in supplying this crucial amenity at a nominal rent to these groups, which must have been a burden on the Order’s reserves”.
“As the Council have a good relationship with the Dominican Order, perhaps they could investigate the possibilities of taking this structure into public ownership – I’m sure the Dominicans would be willing to let go for a reasonable price this now burnt out building so that it could be speedily returned to the valuable uses it had before the disastrous fire in November 2022,” local election candidate Thyes Kavanagh says.
“It would obviously be necessary for it to be built back to a proper standard – so the groups could use it in comfort and safety for many more years to come. I have worked on a similar project in Clondalkin village, where groups have come together to establish an age friendly meeting centre, which will be available to local groups within the next two months”.
“The groups which used St Dominic’s Hall provided nothing less than life saving services to our community – and it is simply not good enough that they/we should wait years while this building is left in its current deplorable state. This building is within the Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) and is also in the area which is judged for the Tidy Towns competition”. “As a candidate in the Local Elections on June 7th – this would be one of my priorities if elected”, said Kavanagh.