Plans for the restoration of the old St Anthony’s Theatre and adjoining Georgian townhouses on Merchant’s Quay, to create new performance and artists’ spaces, have been published by Dublin City Council.
The site, once part of the Franciscan Friary complex in the south west inner city, includes two Georgian Houses at 8 and 9 Merchant’s Quay, which have Viking-era elements, and part of number 7. Behind these is the 1950s theatre building, sandwiched between the rear of the houses and the massive Church of the Immaculate Conception, colloquially known as “Adam and Eves”.
The project will involve the refurbishment of the Georgian buildings, which date from the 1740s but include a preserved Viking-era boat slipway at basement level, to provide cultural, community, and artist workshop spaces. The theatre building, built to designs by Robinson Keefe and Devane in 1953, will be restored as a professional small-scale theatre and flexible multi-use venue for concerts, conferences, workshops and community activities, with a minimum 80-seat capacity.
The buildings are in “poor to reasonable condition”, according to architectural assessments commissioned by the council. The quayside buildings were used as offices by Dublin City Council until about five years ago, but are currently vacant, and some maintenance work is required to the roofs and windows. The theatre has been out of use for several years, and “while it has a lot of character” according to the assessment by McCullough Mulvin Architects, it is in need of “some carefully judged works to bring it back up to a functional state”.
The work, which is expected to take about nine months, is part of a €9 million plan published in 2023 to address the deficit in artists’ workspaces in the city and provide new uses for vacant or redundant council-owned buildings. Sixty artists’ studios are expected to be provided in total, and while some smaller projects have already been completed, the theatre project, which will provide up to 20 spaces, is the largest to date.
Plans for the restoration of the old St Anthony’s Theatre and adjoining Georgian townhouses on Merchant’s Quay, to create new performance and artists’ spaces, have been published by Dublin City Council. Illustration: Dublin City Council
Submissions on the council’s plans can be made until May 5th.
Although the reuse of the buildings for artists’ and performance spaces was planned some years ago, the initiation of the project follows the recent announcement of the closure of The Complex arts centre in the city centre.
The old fruit warehouse, in the markets area, housed 18 studios, a large warehouse performance space and a gallery. However, the building was privately owned and was not a council facility, and its owners served notice to quit on the artists’ collective in December.
The operators and supporters of The Complex campaigned for Government action to save the facility. Interventions by the city council and the Arts Council were unsuccessful and the lease was ended last January.