Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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70. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the works being carried out at the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park; and the timeline for completion and its opening as a visitor site. [17835/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works has responsibility for the conservation and preservation of Ireland’s built heritage.

Set in the Phoenix Park, the Magazine Fort has played a key role in the history of Ireland from its original purpose to store gunpowder to the first shots of the Easter Rising, to its use by the Irish Army.

The OPW submitted plans to Dublin City Council in Oct 2021 to restore and upgrade the historic Magazine Fort. The works encompass the conservation and stabilisation of the historic fort and the conservation and improvement of visitor facilities at the site to enable the OPW to better present this significant military building to the public. Planning permission was granted by Dublin City Council in August 2022 with the main contractor for the conservation works being appointed by the Office of Public Works in May 2023.

The first phase of conservation works is led by OPW Heritage Services Conservation Architects. In this phase, the main fort rampart walls measuring around 420 linear metres standing at a height of 7 metres and the cavaliers, constructed in 1736 will be repaired and conserved. The Gunpowder Store buildings built between 1736 and 1758 which were originally designed to store the ammunition will be restored. A 1921 steel structure clad in corrugated iron structure, the ‘Bakery’ building, which was used to produce weapon ammunition and grenades during the emergency, will be conserved. Finally, the Duke of Dorset Gateway from 1736 which was the original entrance point, dismantled by the Irish army in the 1970’s, will be reinstated. This first phase of stabilisation and repair works is at construction stage on site and the anticipated completion of these works is Q2 2025.

Preparation is underway for the second phase of works to create an exciting and engaging visitor experience at the site. A timeline, for the opening of the site to general public access is not yet available but it will be announced as soon as this information if available. It is anticipated that escorted specialised tours for the public will be provided during heritage week 2024, to showcase ‘conservation in action’ within the Fort. These dates and times will be made available closer to heritage week.

Investment for the enhancement of the Phoenix Park as a heritage site under the National Development Plan allowed the OPW to commission a review of the visitor experience in the Phoenix Park in 2018 supported by our strategic partners Fáilte Ireland. The ‘Phoenix Park Visitor Experience Strategic Review’ proposed a roadmap how this amazing resource could make a greater contribution to our local, national and international tourism economy through sensitive enhancement of visitor infrastructure and the preservation of its unique heritage features, including the Magazine Fort.

The OPW proposes to open the Fort with an exciting new unique interactive visitor experience that will bring to life the unique cultural, social, industrial and military history of the Fort through the centuries. Aspects of the Magazine Fort, such as the ramparts, will be conserved and refurbished to provide a visitor Rampart Walk with views over the Park towards the City and further to the mountains. The unique Magazine Stores themselves will be restored and refurbished to accommodate an immersive interpretative experience of the history of the fort, including a curated sound and light installation. The visitor information and facilities will be accommodated within the existing 1801 Francis Johston range of buildings. The immediate surrounding landscape will be activated by a Moat Walk within the old ditched ravelins.

The Fort itself is positioned within the military landscape of the Liffey Valley in close proximity to the Irish National War Memorial Gardens and the Royal Hospital Kilmainham to the south and Arbour Hill and Grangegorman Military Cemeteries to the east and north. The proposed new non-vehicular commemorative bridge across the River Liffey will link the north & south sides of these cultural routes. The proposed Heritage and Military Trail on this side of the City would find, in the Fort, a suitable new focus as a visitor centre for the Park and its southern environs.

Brief History of the Magazine Fort

The Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park is the major surviving Magazine Fort in the country. The complex has had a long history of continuous use spanning three centuries. It is considered to have special architectural, military, historical, social and archaeological interest. The highly recognisable form of the fort makes it one of the Phoenix Park’s most important landmarks. The Magazine Fort is a Protected Structure in the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2016 – 2022.

Construction of the Magazine Fort (formerly the Royal Magazine Fort), designed by John Corneille Junior, began from c.1736 on the high ground occupied by the Phoenix House (1611), a strategic location for military purposes with commanding views of the city and surroundings. The fort was built for the storage of gunpowder and was managed by the Military Authorities until 1988 when it was decommissioned and transferred to the Office of Public Works. The fortification is a typical square plan with four demi-bastions and a dry moat.

A number of structures ranging from the early eighteenth century to the twentieth century are found within the rampart walls, the earliest of which are two gunpowder magazines. A third magazine designed by Thomas Eyre, Surveyor General, was built between the existing two in 1758. A ravelin was added to its east side in 1801 by Francis Johnston to provide accommodation for the officers and soldiers of the fort and their families.

Architecturally the complex is the product of successive phases of adaptation and addition, typical of an enclosed military site. The Fort occupies a strategic location within the Phoenix Park within which it stands out as one of its main architectural landmarks.

The Magazine Fort is architecturally and historically a very significant site and unique to Dublin. It is a protected structure (DCC RPS No: 6760) and Recorded Monument (RMP No. DU018-007019-).