Sweny's of "Ulysses" Fame Being Allowed to Rot

dublin | environment | press release Thursday June 17, 2004 18:04 by Paul Moloney - Save Sweny's save_swenys at hotmail dot com +353 87 2695 384

Sweny's chemist of 1, Lincoln Place has been both arsoned and raided while being allowed to fall into neglect.

Sweny's Chemist of Lincoln Place/Westland Row, Dublin, the famous chemist shop, dating from 1853, mentioned in James Joyce's "Ulysses" and a listed building, was burgled just a few days before the centenary of Bloomsday, the anniversary of the day on which the events of the book took place (16th June, 1904). The shop's fittings are the same today as they were on the day when Leopold Bloom's fictional visit supposedly took place.

The building has been damaged by fire on four separate occasions in the same 6 month period. According to the Irish Emigrant, "Joycean scholar Senator David Norris believes that the building is being deliberately neglected to make it suitable for redevelopment and Dublin City Council is finding it impossible to deal with the landlord, Thomas Anderson, as it tries to force him to look after the premises.".

In a report on the Irish Times, 16/06/2004, Dublin City Council "has grave concerns about the condition of the building. [...] The landlord, Mr. Thomas Anderson, with an address of Ward Anderson, Upper Abbey Street, boarded up the upstairs windows and a front entrance after the council began enforcement proceedings against him."

Since according to Ireland's Sunday Business Post (11/07/1999), "Ward Anderson controls 43 per cent of the market and owns 112 screens across the country, from the Savoy in Dublin to the Ritz in Mullingar. In the process, Ward and Anderson have become some of the richest men in the land, with an estimated combined worth of 85 million.", one imagines that Thomas Anderson is not so hard up for cash that he needs to destroy part of Ireland's literary heritage.

I've started a Yahoo group for people who want to discuss this issue and initiate a campaign to urge/shame/embarrass those responsible into sorting this mess out. You can find the group at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/save-swenys/

You can contact Dublin City Council and Thomas Anderson at the following contact details:

Address: Enforcement Department, Block 4, Floor 3, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8, Ireland
Phone: Enforcement
E-mail: planning@dublincity.ie

Address: Thomas Anderson, c/o Ward Anderson, Film House, 35 Upper Abbey Street Dublin 2
Telephone: 01 8723922
Fax: 01 8723687
Email: filmart@indigo.ie

P.