"The other side of Dublin......" Ballymun Things to Do Tip by sourbugger

Ballymun is NOT a tourist destination. It was built mainly in the 1960's as one of the biggest (probably the biggest) social housing development in Europe. The seven towers were sung about by U2 (see another tip), and although six have now gone vast blocks of flats still remain.

The government has put vast amounts of money into 'regeneration'. This is a mis-nomer - their policy is based on 'slash or burn' or more accurately napalm. The centre of Ballymun now contains nice new shiny buildings. The police station and a row of betting shops seem to dominate.

The shopping centre still has to take part in this programme. Destined for demolition I visited it in February 2009. If ever you wanted to see a vision of a post nuclear holocaust existence then this comes close. Mainly boarded up a few charity shops, Tesco's and a grotty pub still eke out an existence. They say 800 million will be spent on the new centre - but will the recession put paid to that ?