Ballymun Flats

Ballymun Flats
Joseph Plunkett tower with the Sillogue Road flats in the background.
General information
Status	Demolished
Type	Residential
Architectural style	Brutalist / modernist
Location	Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland
Address	Sandyhill Avenue, Sillogue Avenue, Shangan Avenue, Balbutcher Lane, Shangan Road.
Coordinates	53°23′51″N 06°16′03″W / 53.39750°N 6.26750°W / 53.39750; -6.26750 (Ballymun Flats)
Construction started	1966
Completed	1969
Opening	1969
Demolished	2004-2015
Owner	Dublin Corporation later Dublin City Council
Height	42 metres (138 ft) (tower block elements)
Technical details
Structural system	Lowton-Cubitt steel frame and concrete
Floor count	17
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Dublin Corporation
Main contractor	Cubitt Haden Sisk consortium
References
[1][2]

The Ballymun Flats referred to a number of flats—including the seven Ballymun tower blocks—in Ballymun, Dublin, Ireland. Built rapidly^[3] in the 1960s, there were 36 blocks in total, consisting of 7 fifteen-storey, 19 eight-storey, and 10 four-storey blocks. The complex was built in a Corbusian style known as towers in the park, which was popular in European and American cities in the mid-20th century.^[4]

The 15-storey blocks actually had 17 storeys, including the entrance floor and a plant room on their roofs. Joseph Plunkett tower, named after one of the signatories of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, was typical of the taller tower blocks. It was a 42-metre, 8,500-tonne building that housed 90 families in 30 three-, two-, and one-bedroom units.

The entire complex was demolished in the early 21st century. By October 2013, there were just three remaining blocks, all of which were empty. The last block was demolished in September 2015.^[5]