Trinity’s Pearse St gate will be closed for two months from July 10th, the College has announced, to facilitate ongoing work to Printing House Square.
An email sent by Estates and Facilities to staff and students said the gate, which is opposite the Garda Station on Pearse St, will be closed for “approximately 8 weeks”.
The closure, according to the email, will allow below-ground works – including drainage connection – to take place over the summer.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause during these essential works”, the email said.
According to the College website, Pearse St gate is currently open from 8am-10am and 4pm-6.30pm on weekdays only.
When complete, Printing House Square will provide around 250 beds to students, as well as housing the Health Service and Disability Service.
It will also become the new home of Dublin University Rifle Club and Dublin University Squash Club, and will contain ergonomically sound seminar rooms.
In March, The University Times reported that College had announced a “significant risk” of delays to the opening of Printing House Square. Originally, the building was meant to be ready to admit students in September, but this has since been ruled out.
Speaking to The University Times, the Dean of Students, Kevin O’Kelly, said that there was a risk that the project will not be completed on time. “The builders are still saying it but we have our technical advisors are looking at it and they’re saying there’s a very significant risk that it won’t be finished”, he said.
Over the years, the development has faced a series of setbacks in the form of opposition from An Taisce and rejection by An Bord Pleanála, which argued that the construction would risk compromising the existing aesthetic of Dublin city centre.
The building of Printing House Square comes amid a city-wide housing crisis. O’Kelly assured students that applications to live in the new accommodation would open up as soon as possible: “Once it’s finished, it’ll be open and we’ll get whatever students we can get.”
