Throughout 2008, Ballymun Regeneration Limited, a Dublin City Council initiative, will mark the 10th Anniversary of its multifaceted Masterplan for the regeneration of Ballymun.

The Ballymun Timeline Exhibition reflects on the many achievements of the past decade, and also looks to the future and the remaining steps towards completion.

At the heart of the 1998 Masterplan is a commitment to improving the quality of people’s lives in economic, environmental and social terms. Six of the seven tower blocks in Ballymun have already been demolished, with more than 1,200 families re-housed. This year will see the demolition of a further six blocks and the movement of the project into its final phases.

Successful strategies have been put in place to nurture job creation and to provide educational opportunities and training. Environmental initiatives and resource conservation have been fostered, new commercial enterprises have been established and community facilities such as neighbourhood centres, parks and sports and leisure facilities have also been developed.

The much lauded and innovative Per Cent for Art Scheme has been implemented through Breaking Ground, while the axis Centre, to national and international acclaim, has not only engaged local people artistically and developmentally, but established Ballymun as a destination for new audiences coming into the area. This concept of ‘Destination Ballymun’ is further exemplified by the forthcoming opening of the IKEA Store.

In creating this exhibition, Ballymun Regeneration has endeavoured to recognise as many milestones as possible in the transformation of Ballymun. Given the duration and scale of the project however, it is acknowledged that this timeline is not a definitive representation; it illustrates part of the story of Ballymun’s continuing transformation.

When it comes to the regeneration project every resident in Ballymun has their own story to tell and many have contributed to the realisation of the project, and the Ballymun Timeline stands as a testament to all these people’s endeavours. As the old blocks disappear from the landscape, the buildings replacing them represent the dedication of many individuals and groups across a range of sectors. All have made their mark on the new Ballymun.

The last ten years have not brought joy to all, and in the course of regeneration there have been many challenges and setbacks. Some people are still awaiting their new homes, and the picture is not yet complete; however as we mark this pivotal moment in the realisation of the Masterplan, we are confident that the future is bright.

In creating the timeline a number of words were chosen to be highlighted as representing the essence of the Masterplan’s aspirations. These words: safety, connectivity, destination, participation, creativity, home, inclusion, quality, prosperity and ecology remain a benchmark for the completion of the new Ballymun.

Timeline exhibition brochure [PDF: 2.8Mb]

1997
Government announces the regeneration of Ballymun / Ballymun Regeneration Limited established by Dublin City Council / Consultation with community to develop the Masterplan for the new Ballymun begins / 2,000 people attend the Ballymun Planning Day

1998
Dublin City Development Plan varied to accommodate Masterplan process / 5,000 people attend the Draft Masterplan Exhibition / Masterplan and Integrated Area Plan submitted to the Department of the Environment / Integrated Area Plan qualifies under the 1998 Urban Renewal Scheme / Planning applications submitted for the first new homes / Planning permission granted for axis Centre / President Mary McAleese launches Computer in Schools project in Ballymun / European Commissioner Pádraig Flynn and Proinsias De Rossa visit Ballymun

1999
Dublin City Development Plan 1999 adopted reflecting Masterplan objectives / Róisín Shortall T.D., Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, turns the historic first sod marking the beginning of physical works in Ballymun / Phase 1 housing starts on site / Consultation begins on Phase 2 housing / Noel Dempsey T.D., Minister for Environment and Local Government, launches the Main Street Strategy, attended by over 250 investors / Helen Armstrong M.P., Minister of State at the Department of Local Government and Housing (UK), visits Ballymun / Ballymun Arts and Community Resource Centre Development Limited established / National College of Ireland (NCI) establishes an outreach campus in Ballymun / Masterplan for the new Ballymun receives a national award from the Irish Planning Institute / Bobby Molloy T.D., Minister for Housing, meets the winning architects of the Gateway Housing Competition, ARP Lorimer and Associates

2000
Comprehensive Health and Safety policies developed by BRL / Action Area Plans for Neighbourhood and Community Facilities published / First ‘Schools Safety Awareness Poster Competition’ takes place / ‘Your Future Home is Here: New Housing Frequently Asked Questions’ published / Sillogue playground opens / Global Action Plan (GAP) comes to Ballymun / An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern T.D. and Cllr. Mary Freehill, Lord Mayor of Dublin, come to Ballymun to celebrate the progress of the building works / Phase 2 housing starts on site / Community and Family Training Agency (CAFTA) Housing Transition Programme for residents starts / Shangan playground opens

2001
School presentations of Demolition Safety Awareness begin / Consultation begins for Coultry Park development / Construction of Civic Offices begins / Construction starts on Gateway housing / Work starts on Main Street, including removal of the roundabout / Consultation begins for development of Balcurris Park / Planning permission granted for Leisure Centre / BRL Community Wardens introduced / First GAP Environmental Day held in Ballymun Shopping Centre / Shangan Community Recycling Centre opens / axis opens – the first new building on Main Street / Residents move into first new homes

2002
An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern T.D. celebrates with the first residents in their new homes / Ballymun Community Law Centre opens / Framework for Environmental Action Plan distributed / Oral History Project and Community Archive goes on display / Residents move into first owner-occupied new homes at Hollywell Co-operative, Poppintree / Andrew Kearney’s ‘Illumination’ lights up the boilerhouse, and marks the launch of Breaking Ground, the Per Cent for Art commissioning programme / Shangan Neighbourhood Recycling and Composting Centre wins an ESB / Conservation Volunteers Ireland Community Environment Award / Sophia Housing Association comes to Ballymun / 211 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme

2003
Ballymun Civic Centre opens / BRL and Dublin City Council Area Office relocate to the new Civic Centre / Dublin City Council Motor Tax Office opens in the Civic Centre / Sports Across Ireland project starts / Residents move into owner-occupied new homes at the New Horizons Housing Co-operative / Construction of Ballymun’s first hotel starts / Minister Noel Ahern T.D. launches Breaking Ground commissions by Mark Francis, John Kindness, Daphne Wright, and work by local people with Mary Fitzgerald and David Kinane in the Civic Centre / ‘Meet the Contractor’ event takes place for local job seekers / Creative Writing Group publishes ‘You Had To Be There!’ / Citizens Jury on Anti-Social Behaviour takes place / BRL Summer Projects start / Sillogue Community Recycling Centre opens / Rediscovery Centre Feasibility Study undertaken / Housing Association for Integrated Living (HAIL) opens new homes / 52 new private homes completed in Ballymun / 522 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme

2004
Shangan Park opens / axis’ first production, ‘From These Green Heights’ by Dermot Bolger, wins the Best New Play at the Irish Times ESB Irish Theatre Awards / Balcurris playground opens / Construction Operative Training begins / Mary Robinson launches the first Annual Report of the Ballymun Community Law Centre / Completion of the RegenLink project / axis hosts ‘Borradh Buan’, Ireland’s first-ever Irish Language Theatre Festival, as part of the ESB Dublin Fringe Festival / Private homes at Santry Cross sell out in days / First new shops open on Main Street / Dermot Bolger’s ‘Ballymun Incantation’ is performed as part of the ‘Demolition Wake’, held to mark the beginning of the demolition work / An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern T.D. attends the demolition ceremony for Pearse Tower, which is demolished by mechanical means / Consultation begins for Poppintree Park redevelopment / Paddy Jolley’s ‘Here After’, a black and white film made in the flats in Shangan, is screened in four empty flats / Mediation Ballymun launched / Consultation begins on Phase 3 housing / Artist Jochen Gerz’s commission, ‘amaptocare’ sees 630 donated trees planted throughout Ballymun / Five flat blocks demolished / 636 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme / 466 new private homes completed in Ballymun

2005
Poppintree Neighbourhood Centre opens / Ceannt Tower demolished / ‘Ballymun Masterplan Frequently Asked Questions 1998-2005’ published / McDermott Tower demolished by implosion / CAFTA’s Parenting Programme starts / Two years photographic work by the Holy Spirit Boys National School and Perry Ogden culminates with the exhibition and publication, ‘Missing the View’ / New Leisure Centre completed / Ballymun Regional Youth Resource Centre (RECO) opens / CAFTA’s Home and Self-Management course starts / President Mary McAleese visits axis to launch its Spring programme and ‘axis all areas’, a special participative programme for professional and community artists / Changes in retail planning guidelines facilitate IKEA coming to Ballymun / Childcare Quality Audits and Mentoring Services begin / Emerald Housing wins national award for its design and specification / Coultry Neighbourhood Centre opens / axis’ monthly comedy club, the ‘House of Fun’ is born / McDonagh Tower demolished by implosion / axis and BRL launch the first Dream Factory Summer Arts Project / Depaul Trust Alcohol Support Project opens / Minister for Arts, John O’Donoghue T.D. launches Breaking Ground commissions by Andrew Clancy, Cathy Delaney, Corban Walker, Grace Weir and Graham Parker / Phase 3 housing starts on site / Ballymun wins Race Against Waste Award in National Tidy Towns Competition / Local artists Janice Feighery, Hugh O’Neill, Robert Kelly, Felicity Williams, Dean Scurry and Louise Lowe awarded public art commissions / Safer Ballymun holds its first public meeting / Louise Lowe and Owen Boss’ ‘Tumbledowntown’ with the Roundabout Youth Theatre wins the Dublin Theatre Festival Spirit of the Fringe Award / Fingal County Council adopts the North Ballymun (M50 Lands) Local Area Plan / 575 new private homes completed in Ballymun / 905 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme

2006
28 Travellers move from St Margaret’s halting site into new housing / HSE District Headquarters and Primary Health Care Centre opens in the Civic Centre / Days Hotel opens for business / axis presents the world premiere of Dermot Bolger’s play, ‘The Townlands of Brazil’ / ‘Plan-it! Play, Sport and Fun in Ballymun’ map launched / Coultry Park opens / Legal Aid Board establishes a family law service in Ballymun Community Law Centre / BRL Open Day held in Civic Centre atrium / Ireland’s first Considerate Contractors Code of Good Practice Scheme introduced / First Ballymun Harvest Market held / Cuman Báire Setanta Clubhouse opens / Four new homes completed by Habitat for Humanity, a first for the Republic of Ireland / Coultry Forum Office opens / Rediscovery Centre Furniture Recycling Project launched / axis produces the world premiere of Little John Nee’s ‘The Mental’ as the centrepiece to ‘Out of the Silence’ Arts in Mental Health Festival / Family Mediation Service established in Ballymun Community Law Centre / Ballymun Plaza Hotel opens for business / Ballymun wins three National Tidy Towns Awards / ‘Portrayals’ exhibition by Jeanette Doyle and the women of the STAR Project opens in axis / Minister for Housing and Urban Renewal, Noel Ahern T.D. and Lord Mayor Vincent Jackson join BRL, Dublin City Council and Ballymun residents in the 1,000th home celebration / Railway Procurement Agency offi cially announce Metro for Ballymun / The Horizons Building, a community-based addiction services centre, opens / ‘Lift’, Ballymun’s annual Youth Arts Festival, takes place for the first time / Rediscovery Centre Waste Education workshops approved under National Discover Primary Science Programme / Fuzzy Logic, together with students from Ballymun Senior Comp, perform their jazz composition, ‘History Revision’ at Openjazz 06 in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar / CAFTA’s Children’s Regeneration Programme starts / Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded community composting project begins / Rediscovery Centre Furniture Recycling Project wins a Vodafone / Conservation Volunteers Ireland Award / GAP launches the ‘Big Sweep’, an enviro-crime project sponsored by BRL and Dublin City Council / Dublin City Council’s Community Wardens introduced / The Desperate Optimists’ film, ‘Leisure Centre’, scripted by local drama groups and featuring 150 Ballymun residents, is screened in Cineworld and at film festivals across the world / Consultation begins on Phase 4 housing / Artist John Byrne selects resident as the rider on a classical equestrian bronze sculpture / Ballymun gains Fairtrade Town status – the first in Dublin / 684 new private homes completed in Ballymun / 1,064 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme

2007
Consultation begins for further developing Communications Strategy / Balcurris Park opens / Over one hundred volunteers participate in the variety show, ‘Celebrate Superstar’, directed by Maria and Jennie Place, in axis / BRL Open Day held in Civic Centre atrium / Christine Quinn, New York City Council Speaker, and other New York City Councillors visit Ballymun for St Patrick’s Day / Three of axis’ arts in education projects – Dig It, Tales and Gliondar – take place in local schools simultaneously / First series of lectures on Housing Law beamed into the Civic Centre Council Chambers from NUI Galway / Safer Ballymun, a Community Safety Strategy, launched / Aisling After-School Project Evaluation Report launched / Bartosz Portzyk, the lead actor from ‘Smycz’ by Teatr Polski Wroclaw, wins the Best Male Performer at the Dublin Fringe Festival Awards / BRL hosts the ‘Safer, Cleaner, Greener Environments’ Conference / BRL sets the standard by imposing comprehensive health, safety, environmental and community policy documents in contracts for all new schemes / Fishamble Theatre Company, in association with axis, presents the world premiere of Sean McLoughlin’s play, ‘Noah and the Towerflower’, and is nominated for the Best New Play at the Irish Times Theatre Awards / Ballymun wins two Tidy Towns Awards, taking first place in the ‘Notice Nature Biodiversity Awards’ and the ‘Anti-gum Litter Awards’ / Temporary Ballymun Plaza opens / axis launches ‘SPARK’, a major three-year arts in education programme, which aims to engage with over 500 children annually / Connolly Tower demolished / Ballymun house prices exceed national growth rate / €1,000,000 from Pobal and RAPID for community CCTV scheme / Well-known acts such as Tommy Tiernan, Des Bishop, Jason Byrne and Ardal O’Hanlon headline at the ‘House of Fun’ Comedy Club in axis / Planning permission granted for IKEA / Communications and Allocations teams begin monthly outreach in neighbourhood centres / axis’ production of Dermot Bolger’s play, ‘The Townlands of Brazil’ tours to the National Theatre of Poland, Wroclaw / Meakstown Horse Project opens / axis hosts a major retrospective exhibition of the work of artist Robert Ballagh / Work commences on Ballymun United Football Club’s new facilities / Artist Seamus Nolan transforms the 15th floor of Clarke Tower into ‘Hotel Ballymun’ and is fully booked out for its month long opening / Shangan Neighbourhood Centre opens / BRL presents at the National Safety Symposium (UK) as an example of industry best practice / Railway Procurement Agency announces that the Metro will run underground through Ballymun / ‘THEN’, a multi-part participative artwork installed in various locations across Dublin by the acclaimed British artist Adam Chodzko, is launched in the Hugh Lane Gallery / One flat block demolished / 887 new private homes completed in Ballymun / 1,305 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme / Tenure Diversity Report approved by the BRL Board / 157 children complete CAFTA’s Children’s Regeneration Programme / 800 residents complete CAFTA’s Housing Transition Programme / Coultry Green opens / Aunt Sally Nursery opens in Shangan Neighbourhood Centre / Naíonra Glór na nGael Playgroup opens in Coultry Neighbourhood Centre

2008
Clarke Tower demolished / DCU in the Community opens in Shangan Neighbourhood Centre / Ballymun Farmer’s Market now fortnightly on Ballymun Plaza / ‘Art in the Life World’ Conference and Exhibition, featuring local, national and international artists, held / Comptroller and Auditor General’s Report published / IKEA starts construction / Garda Station completed / BRL hosts ‘Greener Ballymun’ Environmental Conference / Rediscover Fashion collection launched / Completion Report launched / Shangan Forum Offi ce opens / M50 Lands Masterplan launched / Social Welfare Office completed / St Joseph’s School Music Room opens / axis’ ‘Hip- Nós’ tours to the Barrow Street Theatre in New York / Sillogue Neighbourhood Centre opens / Innovative, environmental and sustainable housing projects launched as part of Phase 4 housing / Sillogue/Sandyhill Forum Office opens / axis presents a major digital media project which engages with over 120 young people in Ballymun schools and youth groups / Phase 4 housing starts on site / BRL Environmental Management System for local businesses launched / axis presents ‘InVent’, a rap/spoken word and suicide prevention project, which engages with over 120 young people / North Poppintree Community Centre opens / Preliminary design of Rediscovery Centre launched / New Poppintree Forum Office opens / Cluid Housing Association’s Sheltered Housing opens / Installation of Kevin Atherton’s multi-media and stainless steel sculpture in Balcurris Park / BRL Energy and Environmental Review published / Early Education Centre opens in Poppintree Community Centre / Community Sustainability Strategy launched / Ballymun Neighbourhood Council (BNC) Strategy launched / St Michael’s House opens / Ballymun Biodiversity Action Plan launched / Whiteacre Park opens / 346 Ballymun students graduate from the National College of Ireland / John Byrne’s equestrian bronze sculpture is installed on Main Street / Review of Formal Education Sector completed / Eleven flat blocks demolished / 1,642 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme

Future Development
IKEA opening brings 500 new jobs to Ballymun / axis stages all three plays of Dermot Bolger’s Ballymun Trilogy / Ballymun United Football Club’s new facilities open / axis launches a storytelling project that supports older people in their homes / Aisling Project’s new crèche and after-school facility opens in Balcurris / Final phase of housing starts, incorporating further upgrade in building / energy specification in keeping with BRL’s policy of continuous development towards more sustainable housing / Safer Ballymun Community Alcohol Strategy launched / BRL announces possible axis extension, contemporary art gallery and artist’s studios / Ballymun Residential Project for Boys opens / Ballymun Residential Project for Girls opens / Slí na Slainte developed for Ballymun / Construction on Metro starts / Rediscovery Centre opens in M50 Lands / First science and technology business developed / The first DCU in the Community students graduate / Boilerhouse decommissioned / 2,271 new homes completed under the BRL Housing Programme / Plunkett Tower, the last Ballymun tower, demolished / Last family moves out of the flats / Demolition completed / Balcurris/Balbutcher Forum Office opens / Ballymun East Community Centre opens / Poppintree Park completed / 3,350 private homes completed in Ballymun / Town Centre, Ballymun’s new shopping centre, developed / First Metro through Ballymun