Debtors' Prison Dublin

53.35027°N 6.27085°W / 53.35027; -6.27085

Dublin Debtor's Prison in 2017
Back of building on Green Street

The Debtors' Prison Dublin is an historic building in Dublin’s north inner city. It is listed as a Protected Structure in Dublin City Council’s Development Plan.[1]

History

The Debtors' Prison Dublin was erected in 1794.[2] It is situated between Halston Street and Green Street in Dublin 1. It is a ‘U’ shaped building built of granite and limestone, rising to three storeys over a vaulted basement. It contains thirty-three cells that were used for individuals who had run up debts, often through gambling.[3] Rooms were rented either furnished or unfurnished, and less fortunate debtors were held in the basement cells. Prisoners were held until their debts were paid.[4] The building was more recently used as a Garda barracks, and as accommodation for Garda widows. In the 1960s it was used as local authority housing by Dublin Corporation.

In the late twentieth century it was threatened with demolition as it lay on the path of Dublin Corporation’s road-widening plans[5] for the Inner Tangent Road. In the 1990s the Green Street Trust, a charitable body composed mainly of members of the Students Against the Destruction of Dublin acquired a lease of the building from the Office of Public Works. It initiated refurbishment works on the building with a view to providing social housing. The Trust ran low on funds and returned the lease to Office of Public Works who now control the building which is currently unused. The building has been used as a location for several films including 'The Tale of Sweeney Todd' and 'David Copperfield'.In August 2016 it was occupied by a group who intended to create a home “for the creative community.”[6]

References
  1. Dublin City Development Plan 2011-2017: Record of Protected Structures (Reference 3507) (PDF), Dublin: Dublin City Council, 22 December 2010, p. 102, retrieved 13 September 2017
  2. Gilbert, John Thomas (1854). A History of the City of Dublin Volume 1. Dublin: James McGlashan. pp. 275.
  3. Pearson, P. (2000) ‘The Heart of Dublin’, p. 346, Dublin, O’Brien Press
  4. Casey, C. (2005) 'The Buildings of Ireland - Dublin' p. 100, New Haven and London, Yale University Press
  5. Sunday Business Post 'Locked away for the public good' Teri Griffin, 5 November 1995
  6. The Irish Times. August 15, 2016. Accessed August 19, 2016
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