The Marshalsea Prison Ballcourt and Walls
ReImagine Marshalsea Barracks
This is an important and somewhat invisible Protected Structure at the heart of Dublin 8 communities.
The intertwined relationship between the local long-time established Bridgefoot St community and the historic prison yard is a poignant and resonant one. In recognition of this fact Dublin City Council have authorised a reimagining of the space by the local community. This may in time lead to the possibility of running small micro events in the space and has already led to a Conservation Management Plan funded by the Heritage Council, an oral and desk history project, supported in part financially by the Irish Architecture Foundation, and through the work and support of Curious Broadcast and Hassett Ducatez Architects. The project is spearheaded by Robert Emmet Community Development Partnership and the South Inner City Community Development Partnership, led by Austin Campbell
The local community have run information visits and tours and gathered oral histories and photographs to assist and advise Hassett Ducatez to prepare a Conservation Management Plan to understand and establish the significance of the Protected Structure. This would serve as a basis for assessing any repair, stabilisation or interventionist work that might be considered. It will provide a framework within which potential Section 5 or 57 applications might be made, should outdoor community micro-events be planned for the space.
This site was originally constructed circa 1770 as a debtors' prison, and closing in 1876 was used by the Dublin Militia, becoming tenements following the formation of the Irish State. The building was largely demolished during various Dublin Inner Tangent road widening preparations in 1975, and what remains is a large walled enclosure. It has lain vacant and unused for two decades. This mysterious overgrown ballcourt has many layered histories- it has the sole example of a granite-faced gentleman debtors Racquetball Court, it housed a two storey free-standing Roman Catholic Chapel, laundry, latrine and exercise facilities, informal pigeon lofts and stables, twentieth century handball alleys and organised youth/scout clubs. It is surrounded on four sides by walls which are classified as Protected Structure and extends south to Thomas Street. The site only has one entrance off Robert Emmet Walk and its impressive walls are well visible from the new Bridgefoot Street Park.
ReImagine Marshalsea Barracks
The Reimagine Marshalsea Barracks project is an ongoing process.
The various policies of the Conservation Management Plan will act as a basis from which to disseminate the history of this remarkable place, bring it into soft curated use and guide the dialogue and use by the local community.
The aim of Reimagine Marshalsea Barracks Project is to support the local community in developing a new vision and design concept for Marshalsea Barracks, a structure and space in the Liberties in Dublin 8, with the support of Dublin city council and the CORN Network, a network of 46 community organisations that seek to provide an inclusive, active forum for community stakeholders across the Southwest Inner City. This is an ambitious project to propose a new future use for a site and structure which holds a strong historical, community and cultural significance to the local community. It requires sensitive engagement and more research is needed to better describe the historic role this place held in Dublin’s social history. The voice of the local residents is central to this project. The outcome of this process will not just be a design for a structure or space, but increased local confidence in considering how else they can engage with local developments in their area.
The Reimagine Marshalsea Barracks project will also contribute to the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of the Liberties which is under increasing pressure in an area undergoing rapid apart-hotels and built-to-rent developments that need to be challenged to meaningfully engage with the local residents.
“This former debtors prison exercise yard, laundry and church enclosure dates from the Marshalsea prison complex (1770-1876), later used by Dublin Militia (1876-1909) for washing, laundry, and latrine facilities, during which the church was converted to band practice rooms. It was possibly then used by the Irish military or already by tenements until 1920, and the granite faced racquetball court remained. Handball alleys were added later. (1920-55). The former church building was used by the local community as a scout hall and youth club and burnt down c1965. Local people also used the yard to stable horses and keep pigeons until 1995.”
Explore Marshalsea
Public site visits such as those organised in coordination with Dublin City Council, the Irish Architecture Foundation Open House Festival, the Liberties Festival and In Our Shoes Walking Tours have proved remarkably successful in promoting engagement in the community and amongst interested parties. Similar events were held during National Heritage Week and will continue. Visitors and neighbours peered through the sole door into the space and discussed their experience and thoughts with historians, architects, community workers and broadcasters with the knowledge that the path to its activation is being laid.
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Conservation Management plan
In an area of rich architectural and cultural value, this project will act as an exemplar for the collaboration of professional expertise in the field of conservation with local communities.
The outcome of the project will be to draw out the cultural, technical, historical, social, and recent oral histories of this overlooked place. This will contribute to a wider understanding of an important historic urban site, and recognise the cultural role this place holds in community imagination. Dublin 8, and the Liberties in particular has a multi-generational community of residents whose continued cultural heritage relies on the public infrastructure and spaces in the area which now threatened by development. Marshalsea Barracks is in a prime location and has suitable characteristics to offer a unique space for community use.
1. To ascertain the building condition, services present, heritage value, and historic and cultural significance to assist in the proposal of appropriate conservation measures.
2. To assess statutory obligations regarding the protection of the historic building fabric and its compliance with current planning, building, and health and safety regulations and standards.
3. To assist in the activation of the site for use by the local community as a cultural space, as part of the ongoing Reimagine Marshalsea Barracks project, described below.
4. To contribute to the preservation of the intangible cultural heritage of the Liberties which is under increasing pressure in an area undergoing rapid apart-hotels and built-to-rent developments that fail to meaningfully engage with the local residents.
5. To establish the historic chronology of the site development, identify source material and highlight the significant gaps in research (social, architectural, historical) which require work and to set in train a process which will lead to the development of the academic project of research and in parallel its wider public dissemination.
