The battle to save Wood Quay

Back in the late 1970s the battle to save Wood Quay led to a major debate in Ireland into how we treat our culture and heritage. The controversy stemmed from the planned construction of Dublin City Council's civic offices on a four-acre site that was home to a significant Viking settlement.  Despite the public's strong opposition and some legal victories, the development ultimately proceeded, albeit with a more extended excavation period. 

The Sunday Press report of 10 December 1978 provides a picture of what was happening:

HUNDREDS of protesters axe expected to picket Dublin's City Hall tomorrow evening while the City Council hold a special meeting to debate the future of the controversial Wood Quay site.

The meeting has been called to discuss two motions, from Fine Gael and Labour, which would allow tine Corporation to proceed with construction of the civic offices on the site, although the Labour motion would preclude them from the designated area. The Friends of Medieval Dublin group, which organised the massive protest march in the city last September, are hoping that a large number of people will turn up at the City Hall at 6.15 p.m. tomorrow to make their views known to the city councillors. A spokesman for the Wood Quay Action Group, which is organising the demonstration, said they needed to show that the steam had not run out of public protest on the issue and to impress on the Government that the building should not so ahead. The demands of the conservationists are that the national monument at Wood Quay should be preserved, that no construction of offices take place on any part of the site, and that the _Corporation should look for an alternative site for the civic offices elsewhere in the city.

Dig' continues

Meanwhile, the Wood Quay archaeological "dig" continues apace, and one of the most recent finds has been the "Red Haired Viking".

The excavation, team, led by Mr. Patrick Wallace, of the National Museum, has uncovered three skeletons in recent months, but the most interesting so far has been the uncovering of a skeleton with a goodly crop of red hair, which remains quite distinguishable, over 900 years later.

And, even more amazing, it seems that a portion of the man's brains may also have survived.

The head has been sent to the State Pathologist, Dr. John Harbison, but the museum has not yet heard the results of his examination. Another recent interesting find by the team in the tenth century Viking settlement, under the shadow of Christ Church Cathedral, is a piece of leather with the first six letters of the alphabet in the old Irish script clearly legible. Mr. Wallace feels that this is particularly interesting as an indication that native Irish culture was continuing to be present in the Viking town of the time.

For more information search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )