Why U2 still haven’t got what they’re looking for

23 September 2007 By Neil Callanan

Sunday Business Post

 

Seven years after it was first mooted, the proposed U2 tower for Dublin’s docklands remains strangled in red tape, design-related disagreements and planning squabbles.

 

The U2 tower was intended to define the docklands area of Dublin: an emblem of new Ireland, an elegantly twisting structure close to the emerging centre of commerce in Dublin. Instead, it is in danger of becoming a symbol of planning logjams and indecision.

 

In July last year, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) sought expressions of interest to develop the tower and an adjoining campshire site. The closing date for submissions was October 2006, and a decision on the winning bid was expected by the end of the year.

 

But, nearly a year after the initial deadline for expressions of interest, an announcement on the winning bidder has yet to be made. Shortlisted bidders had been expecting an announcement by September 11,but that deadline passed and the winning bidder’s identity remains a secret.

 

A spokeswoman for the DDDA said that, ‘‘due to scheduling issues, it is now likely to be early October, at the next meeting of the board of the Authority’’ before a decision is made. However, that could spark off yet another set of problems for the project.

 

One shortlisted bidder for the project has told The Sunday Business Post that he hopes his bid will not be selected because of knock-on effects from the recent downturn in the housing market. He said that property developers had bid for the site when the market was still strong, but that the fall in residential prices would make it more difficult for the project to be viable.

 

The recent tightening in the credit markets - the so-called ‘‘credit crunch’’ - is already affecting the funding of projects such as the Shard of Glass tower in London, and could make securing the finance to develop the site more difficult.

 

The shortlist of five bidders for the tower was announced by the DDDA in February. It comprised Ballymore Properties; Royal BAM Group; a joint venture between Treasury Holdings and Sisk; Sean Dunne’s Mountbrook Homes; and the River II Partnership, made up of the Kelly, McCormack, Elliott and Flynn families, who are involved in property development.

 

When the shortlist was announced, the five bidders were also told to submit design proposals for an adjacent site on Britain Quay, and to provide an integrated plan for that site and the tower. The developers were required to bid for the pre-agreed design for theU2 Tower, and also to bid for their own architects’ designs for the sites.

 

However, it subsequently emerged that the members of U2 were in fact bidding for the tower site themselves, in a joint venture with Ballymore. The DDDA has not explained why U2’s involvement was not initially disclosed, or whether it was even aware of it when the bids were submitted.

 

The DDDA, through its solicitors, did write to the other companies on the shortlist to say that the rock superstars would ‘‘not have any role or involvement, directly or indirectly’’ in examining bids for the project.

 

Since the DDDA’s decision to allow bidders to use their own architects’ designs, there has been sustained speculation that the original design of the tower will be scrapped. A spokeswoman for the DDDA said she could not comment on the matter.

 

Felim Dunne, a principal in architecture firm BCDH, which designed the tower, did not return a call seeking comment on whether his firm had been told that its design was no longer to be used.

 

Two of the shortlisted bidders have told this newspaper that if theU2 tower site design is used, the site of 2.5 acres will sell for at least €75 million, and possibly as much as €100million,when the cost of providing the upper floors of the tower for U2 is included in the cost.

 

However, they stated that bids for the variant tower designs were significantly below those figures. Ballymore/U2 and Treasury Holdings/Sisk are understood to have submitted variant tower designs, and the Ballymore/U2 bid is the favourite to win.

 

The competition to design a tower for the site was run in 2003, but the identity of the original winning design could not be ascertained. It subsequently emerged that it should have been disqualified in the first place, so BCDH’s proposal was declared the winner.

 

The BCDH proposal is for a tower with a 45-degree twist, a feature that has become increasingly common in towers worldwide. International architecture firm Skidmore Owings & Merrill (SOM) designed the 80-storey Infinity Tower in Dubai, which has a 90-degree twist.

 

Architect Santiago Calatrava, who designed the Samuel Beckett bridge for the docklands in Dublin, has designed numerous twisting buildings, including the Chicago Spire, which is being developed by Garrett Kelleher’s Shelbourne Developments.

 

The U2 tower was originally meant to be 60 metres high but, by 2005, the height of the proposed building had increased to 100 metres.

 

When planning was eventually sought last year, the tower had more than doubled in height to 130 metres.

 

Planning was later granted for the 36storey tower over two storeys of basement accommodation, measuring a total of just under 35,000 square metres. The development was only put out to tender after talks between the DDDA and property developer Liam Carroll, who owns a large adjacent site on Britain Quay, broke down.

 

The minutes from a DDDA council meeting in July 2005 show that the authority was in active negotiations with Carroll to seek a joint development of his property and the U2 tower site. The DDDA entered the talks because it wanted only the U2 tower built on that side of the river.

 

The problem was that Carroll already had planning permission for a 100 metre tower on his site. The DDDA proposed that it would offer Carroll two options for a joint development of his property and the DDDA site, but one of the conditions was that only theU2 tower would be built.

 

After the meeting, the DDDA was accused of being ‘‘breathtaking in its arrogance’’ by Gerry Fay, one of its council members, for assuming that its tower should take precedence over Carroll’s, which already had planning permission.

 

It was ‘‘patently obvious that the DDDA completely underestimated the scale of development required at this location in 2000,when the original plans were drawn up’’, Fay wrote in a letter to the DDDA.

 

‘‘The DDDA were caught ball-watching - rolled and mugged, once again they are now playing catch-up.”

 

The DDDA wants only one tower built on the south docks because it wishes to create a ‘‘landmark entry’’ to Dublin via the U2 tower on the south docks and the Watchtower building being planned by businessman Harry Crosbie on the north docks.

 

The reasoning behind this has yet to be fully explained, given that very few people will enter the city by passing the sites.

 

Last year, the DDDA decided to add an amendment to its planning scheme for the Grand Canal Dock area. It said that only one tower was to be developed in the area and made it site-specific, meaning that the only place where one could be built was on theU2 tower site.

 

‘‘The requirements for such a tower would not be satisfied by any other landmark tower that may be permitted or constructed in the Grand Canal Dock area,” stated the draft amendment.

 

This proved a significant move, because Carroll was not even close to completing the development of his site and the planning permission was due to expire.

 

Carroll started work on the site, but Dublin City Council, which had granted permission for his tower and associated developments, ruled that insufficient works had been carried out and an extension of the planning permission would not be appropriate. An appeal was also turned down.

 

Carroll lodged legal proceedings in the Commercial Court in March challenging the council’s decision. If he does not win the case, he is unlikely to ever be allowed build a tower on his site.

 

An informed source told The Sunday Business Post last week there had been talks between the DDDA and Carroll on the issue and suggested a possible solution might be reached, by allowing increased density on his site in return for reducing the tower’s height. A senior industry source also said the DDDA was in talks with Carroll to acquire some of his site.

 

It is not clear why the DDDA is so emphatic about only having one tower in the south docks. The docklands has few high-profile buildings - a point emphasised by the artists shortlisted for a sculpture for the docks, with sculptor Dorothy Cross branding the area ‘‘generic and second rate’’.

 

Perhaps in acknowledgement of this, the DDDA commissioned a tall buildings study for the North Lotts area and is also part of a consortium planning high rise development on the South Wharf site in Ringsend.

 

Most property developers believe the authority will eventually have to back down and allow more high-rise development in the docklands.

 

Many developers have already prepared for it, developing buildings with foundations strong enough to allow them increase their property heights when the DDDA eases its height restrictions.

 

Going up seems a matter of when, not if - but, as those involved in the U2 tower process have found to their cost, ‘‘when’’ can be an awfully long time where the docklands are concerned.

 

27.09.2007

'Front Man' Knows His Subject'

 

Bono receives the 2007 Liberty Medal on Philadelphia’s Independence Mall today - and you can catch the proceedings live online.

 

 

The Liberty Medal, bestowed annually by the National Constitution Center, is being awarded jointly to Bono and DATA, the advocacy organisation he co-founded to combat poverty in the poorest countries.

 

 

 

 

An editorial in this mornings Philadelphia Inquirer puts today's award in context.

 

'Few people in modern times have done more with their celebrity to combat poverty and disease than Bono, who will receive the Liberty Medal tonight at the National Constitution Center.

The Irish rock star is being honored along with the advocacy group he co-founded, DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). Not only is the recognition well deserved, but the publicity should focus even more attention on fighting extreme poverty and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2005, DATA and its allies prodded the G8 nations to pledge $25 billion in extra aid for Africa by 2010; to forgive debt owed by the continent's 18 poorest nations; to provide greater access to education; and to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. But DATA and other international aid groups say the G8 nations have fallen far short of that commitment.

As Bono is feted in Philadelphia, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan will chair the Global Fund Replenishment Conference in Berlin. It will be a test of the G8 nations' sincerity about fighting disease. The fund, created in 2002, is credited with helping to save two million lives worldwide. More than one million AIDS patients have received life-prolonging drugs.

The United States has pledged $724 million this year, or 29 percent of the total. It's a commitment that must be kept and built upon.

Today isn't the first time that Bono's causes have intersected with Philadelphia. In 2005, Philadelphia held one of the "Live 8" concerts, a worldwide effort championed by Bono and other entertainer-activists to raise awareness of extreme poverty.

Bono's humanitarian work has become impossible to ignore because of its inescapable moral force and because he is a "front man" who truly knows his subject. Since his memorable 10-day tour of Africa with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill in 2002, the sunglassed-one has become nearly as well known for his antipoverty crusade as for being the lead singer of U2. He's done it by promoting a relentless message of economic justice and compassion.

The Liberty Medal is given annually to people who advance the cause of liberty around the world. Bono forces us to confront the reality that liberation from poverty and disease is an unmet basic human need.'

 

 

Missed that :blink:

27.09.2007

‘They Built the Road…’

 

 

Bono and Edge were in London last night, for the UK premiere of Julie Taymor’s Beatles-inspired movie Across The Universe . Bono makes a cameo appearance as Dr Robert, performing ‘I Am The Walrus’.

 

Speaking to reporters before the screening in London’s West End, he said his interest in taking on the role was because ‘I wanted to learn from Julie.’

 

‘I’m an admirer of her, of what she has done in the opera, as well as films like Titus and Frida - although the fact she let me go play with her actors and her script, shows that she is not 100% smart ! But we got away with it!’

 

A love story set in the 1960’s, the film stars Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood who fall in love during America’s anti-war movement. The unfolding tale is told in the lyrics of 33 Beatles tracks including Revolution, Hey Jude and All You Need is Love.

 

Dr Robert's six-minute cameo features a a commendably trippy version of ‘I Am The Walrus’ – followed by a similarly psychedelic turn by comedian Eddie Izzard playing Mr Kite.

 

Bono’s version of ‘I Am The Walrus’, backed by Secret Machines, is on the official movie soundtrack CD, which also features Bono and Edge together performing Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, the track which plays during the film’s closing credits.

 

‘The Beatles mean everything to me,’ added Bono. ‘They built the road that bands like U2 travel on. And the fact that this is a movie with all their lyrics but without The Beatles themselves, that makes the songs in a way even more powerful. It’s an extraordinary film.’

 

 

me too Twink :blink:

Bono given award for African work

BBC

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44144000/jpg/_44144957_bono_ap203b.jpg

Six medal recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Peace Prize

 

U2 singer Bono has been awarded with the Liberty Medal for his humanitarian work in Africa.

 

The star was presented with the accolade in the US city of Philadelphia by last year's winner, George Bush, the father of the current US president.

 

He will donate the $100,000 (£49,200) cash prize to the Debt Aids Trade Africa charity he founded in 2002.

 

Speaking at the ceremony, the musician said: "When you are trapped by poverty, you are not free."

 

He added: "When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grew, you are not free.

 

"When you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace... well, then none of us are truly free."

 

Bono also called on Americans to continue helping the world.

 

"America has so many great answers to offer," he said. "We can't fix all the world's problems, but the ones we can, we must."

 

The Liberty Medal, established in 1988, is awarded by the US National Constitution Center to those who have "demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty".

 

The organisation describes itself as being dedicated to increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for, the US constitution, its history and its contemporary relevance.

 

 

Bono Attends 'Beatles Movie' Premier

http://www.musicrooms.net/cm/live/templates/?a=5510&z=3

 

Bono made a surprise appearance at the premiere of a movie based on the music of The Beatles in London last night.

 

The U2 frontman makes a cameo in Across The Universe as a shaman called Doctor Robert and showed his support at the launch.

 

The film, directed by Julie Taymor, features 33 famous Beatles songs which are used to tell the story. Tracks include 'Hey Jude', 'I Am The Walrus' and 'Get Back.'

 

The script was written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais – who famously wrote such television hits as Porridge and Auf Wiedersehn Pet.

 

Speaking to the BBC on the red carpet, Bono – real name Paul Hewson – paid tribute to The Beatles saying they "mean everything" and added "They built the road that bands like U2 travel on."

 

 

:dance: :dance: Go BONO :P

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

:dance: :dance:

Millionaire Plans a Shrine to U2

 

Sunday Mirror, September 30, 2007

 

Stephan Maguire

 

 

Millionaire entrepreneur Harry Crosbie is to spend a fortune building a shrine to his beloved U2.

 

The Dublin businessman is to create the tribute to the world's biggest band at his new Point Village on the site of the old Point Depot in the Docklands.

 

Crosbie is hoping the U2 Experience, as it has been dubbed, will attract millions of U2 fans from across the globe.

 

The tribute will consist of huge pictures and statues of the Dublin supergroup as well as memorabilia and other items similar to the Beatles museum in Liverpool.

 

The shrine is set to become the first official museum to Bono and the boys.

 

A source close to Crosbie said it was his tribute to the band but he hoped the museum would also become a profitable business venture.

 

"Harry is set to spend a lot of money on the U2 experience. He is very friendly with the band and they are fully aware of his plans and think it's a great idea," the source said.

 

"There's talk of interactive pieces as well as the usual U2 memorabilia and film shows and history of the band. What it will be is a professional set-up that will rival anything of a similar nature around the world."

 

When built, the museum will be directly across the River Liffey from the U2 Tower -- the skyscraper will house the band's new recording studio on the top two floors.

 

The U2 Experience will also be part of Crosbie's plans for the Point Village, which will increase the capacity of the original Point Depot to a 14,000-seater.

 

The village will also include shopping outlets and flats.

 

Dublin City Council has also given the green light for a new Luas link to service the area.

 

 

 

 

Bono under fire over £100m hotel plan

 

 

Telegraph, October 01, 2007

 

Tom Peterkin

 

 

 

Bono and the Edge have been accused of presiding over the destruction of a historic area of Georgian Dublin through their plans to revamp an iconic hotel in the Irish capital.

 

A £100million proposal to redevelop the U2-owned Clarence Hotel was described as the "biggest demolition of protected and historic structures" in Dublin in 10 years by a conservation expert.

 

Michael Smith, a former chairman of An Taisce, has become a vociferous critic of the project being carried out by the internationally renowned London architect Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

 

Lord Foster has promised that the new Clarence Hotel will define Dublin in the same way that the Savoy Hotel is associated with London.

 

The five-star hotel on the bank of the Liffey was acquired by Bono and the Edge in 1996 and has 49 rooms. The redevelopment will see its capacity increased to 140 rooms. The building will be crowned by a "sky catcher" glass dome with a longboat-shaped atrium running up to the roof.

 

The new Clarence will have a spa, gym, swimming pool, crèche and music venue. It is hoped that the Michelin-starred restaurant, the River Café, will become part of the complex.

 

The original Georgian façade will remain, but much of the interior will be demolished to make way for a contemporary design. It is this aspect of the development that has annoyed Mr. Smith, who, as a neighbour, has registered his displeasure with Dublin city council.

 

According to Mr. Smith, the plans will mean the demolition of four Georgian houses, plus two listed buildings.

 

In his submission to the council, he said: "The Clarence is a unique remaining example of an eclectic mélange of stripped classical-arts and crafts-art deco architecture.

 

"The building won a conservation award as recently as 2005 from the RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) for its conversion.

 

"So why demolish it? Dollard House (a nearby print works) is a fine late-nineteenth century commercial building in good condition. The adjoining quay front houses are Georgian and of good quality for the quays.

 

"The proposal undermines this typical heterogeneous quay-front charm by demolishing the interior and corrupting the external ethos of each of these ensembles severally by incorporating the Clarence within a Fosteresque twenty-first-century rockstar bubble."

 

Listed buildings cannot be demolished in Ireland unless it can be demonstrated that there are "exceptional circumstances."

 

Within the past few days, the developers have submitted a document to the council arguing that such circumstances exist.

 

Their submission has failed to placate Mr. Smith, who has said he will take legal action if planning permission is granted by An Bord Pleanala.

 

Yesterday, Mr. Smith said: "It's shocking that Bono and the Edge of U2, famously more thoughtful than most, should continue to put their name to what is the biggest demolition of protected and historic structures in the city in a decade.

 

"They have not shown the existence of exceptional circumstances as now required for demolishing protected structures and I am very confident the application will ultimately be turned down."

 

A spokesman for the Clarence Hotel development said: "Michael is entitled to his views, but we are not going to get into a tit-for-tat argument with him.

 

"We believe that this development will make a significant contribution to the economic and social life of the city. It also aims to be one of the most sustainable hotels in the world and a very detailed submission has been made to the council in recent days, which sets out and clarifies a lot of issues."

 

 

© Telegraph Media Group Limited, 2007.

 

 

 

 

 

With or without Obey, U2’s Bono charms freshman House Dems

 

 

The Hill, October 03, 2007

 

Johnathan E. Kaplan

 

 

U2 frontman Bono showered attention on House freshman Democratic lawmakers Wednesday during their weekly breakfast meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

 

The Irish-born rocker-slash-philanthropist was on the Hill to solicit ideas for publicizing the successes of U.S. government programs and his own charitable initiatives in combating poverty, AIDS and other ills in Africa.

 

Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) started the morning meal by giving Bono a pop quiz in U.S. geography, asking whether he could locate the congressman’s home state on a map, according to sources.

 

He responded that he knew America’s Dairyland well. The follow-up: Did Bono know where one can find a statue of Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.)?

 

There is such a monument, and Bono helped pay for it, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) chimed in.

 

Bono said that was true, but noted that his generosity was conditioned on Obey’s promise to stop playing the guitar.

 

Hoyer may have earned some chuckles in part because Obey dissed Bono last December, when the latter was in Washington lobbying lawmakers.

 

“I don’t need any lectures from an Irishman to tell me what the hell our obligation is,” Obey told Bloomberg News recently in recalling the incident, adding that he held hearings on AIDS before he had ever heard of Bono.

 

For his part, Bono was a gracious host, bringing Pelosi flowers and, when he crossed paths with her later in the day, complimenting the Speaker on wearing red in honor of RED, his effort to get businesses involved in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

 

He also had coffee with eight members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to a spokesman for Bono’s think tank, Debt AIDS Trade Africa (DATA). Bono thanked them for acting on his priorities and entertained questions about the 2008 election.

 

The musician and global activist has traveled with former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, lobbied on Capitol Hill and visited the Oval Office.

 

Yet Democratic lawmakers were eager to offer ideas to the stylish Irishman, dressed in a dark suit, dark tie and an untucked dark dress shirt.

 

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said he reminded Bono that he had given him a Sun Record Company pin at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Bono was there to perform in celebration of Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) birthday. Sun produced records for Elvis Presley and other stars.

 

Cohen suggested that Bono could promote his issues during Christmas at Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis.

“I told him, ‘Elvis won’t be there,’ ” Cohen said.

 

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) asked Bono to reaffirm Congress’s bona fides — that the institution is indeed “accomplishing a lot” when it comes to fighting AIDS and malaria.

 

“I want people to know that their money is well spent and that is exactly the kind of message that [bono can convey], especially to young people,” Shea-Porter said.

 

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) asked Bono to remember poverty in Haiti and the Caribbean. Bono replied that a friend of his, the Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean, would not let him forget.

 

Clarke said she grew up with Jean.

 

Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who noted that U2’s “Beautiful Day” was her campaign theme song, suggested that the lights on the Capitol Christmas tree should each represent a unit of good works, such as 100 people saved as a result of anti-HIV/AIDS drugs or children attending a new school.

 

At the meeting’s end, Bono posed for pictures, shook hands and left all the lawmakers feeling good.

 

“He’s a big political visionary who uses his music and resources to make a difference,” Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) said.

 

© Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., 2007.

 

Spice us up Bono

 

EXCLUSIVE: ROCKER'S SONG FOR GIRLS

01/10/2007

 

 

 

 

He's no stranger to a good deed or two and now Bono has accepted one of his toughest missions yet - a collaboration with the Spice Girls.

 

We can exclusively reveal that the Irish rocker - best known for his work with U2, Third World debt and Aids victims - has written a brand new song for the reuniting popsters.

 

The tune is set to be included in the Spice Girls' forthcoming greatest hits album and Baby, Ginger, Posh, Scary and Sporty will perform it on their world tour.

 

We've been told that record label bosses are getting increasingly jittery about how well the album will perform when it hits the shops.

 

Advertisement

It could be out as early as November 5 - but that could still change depending on the competition out there.

 

So they asked Bono, 47, to see if he could help out - and were delighted when he said yes. Posh is already close to the rocker, whose Red campaign raises money to help victims of Aids. Hubby David Beckham has also helped out when he appeared in a TV advert for the Motorola's Red Razr mobile phone.

 

Our impeccable music insider tells us: "It might seem unusual with the Spice Girls' pop roots and the much more rockier work of Bono, but it works.

 

"There's been a bit of unease as to how the album will perform and if there's still a solid Spice Girls' fanbase out there.

 

"However Bono's involvement has lifted the whole camp and he's delighted to have been asked and add his experience."

 

The name of the song is at the moment a closely-guarded secret but our insider adds: "Bono is a brilliant musician and is up for the challenge and can pull off any sort of musical style. Expect the unexpected."

 

Maybe it will be an angry rant railing against the injustice of global poverty - we'll just have to wait and see.

 

The band - on £10million apiece - are to play one UK date in London on their 15-concert world tour.

 

Wonder if a certain Irish superstar will jump on stage and join them...

 

 

 

 

 

Mirror.co.uk

:o :o oh dear.... :unsure:

:o :o oh dear.... :unsure:

 

 

Exactly :unsure:

U2's New Hotel Plans

 

IrishAbroad, October 04, 2007

 

Paddy Clancy

 

 

 

U2 members Bono and the Edge have stirred major controversy over plans to upgrade their Dublin city center Clarence Hotel to a five-star establishment in a $213 million revamp.

 

The pair, along with their property partner Paddy McKillen, wish to develop the building into Europe's "most spectacular hotel," according to their architect.

 

The hotel was once the moderately-priced overnight lodgings of rural priests on business in Dublin before U2 bought it in 1992 and transformed it into a glittering magnet for the showbiz set.

 

But with only 49 rooms it has been a loss-maker, and many A-list celebs who would have stayed there in the past have opted in recent years for the Four Seasons and The Merrion hotels, although Pamela Anderson was a satisfied Clarence guest last year.

 

Bono admitted that he rarely goes into the hotel any more because its financial losses depress him.

 

The owners want to add another 95 rooms as well as a few more floors to what they intend to be a nine-story showcase hotel with a "skycatcher" glass dome and a Viking boat-shaped atrium running up to the roof.

 

A Michelin-starred restaurant, a spa, gym, swimming pool, creche, basement and music venue and a range of bars are included in the plans.

 

Realizing the dream will mean extending into an adjoining former print works and four other Georgian buildings.

 

Objectors include the powerful An Taisce, the national heritage trust, and the influential Irish Georgian society.

 

An Taisce former chairman Michael Smith has expressed outrage at what he called the "illegal bast*rdization" of the protected building on Wellington Quay. He said if the planning authorities give the go-ahead to the project he will take legal action to save the antique streetscape of the Quays.

 

The designer Lord Foster is one of the most renowned architects in the world, although British tabloids call him "Lord Wobbly" because pedestrians felt his Millennium Bridge in London wobble the first two days it was open. The "wobble" was later corrected.

 

Foster has promised that the Clarence, as he plans to revamp it, will "define Dublin" in the same way the Savoy is synonymous with London.

 

He claimed that in order to turn the hotel into a rival of the greatest luxury hotels in the world the plans have to be drastic. "If we were to keep the building as it is we would have no scope to create the grandeur and interest that would be demanded," he said.

 

He hopes the development will achieve the same status as Singapore's famous 120-year-old Raffles Hotel, which was declared a national monument in 1987.

 

 

© IrishAbroad.com, 2007.

 

Bono's daughter targeted by kidnappers

Digital Spy

 

 

Bono's daughter was targeted by kidnappers when she was just four years old, it has been revealed.

 

Jordan Hewson, who is now eighteen, was at the centre of an $8 million plot in 1994 when five Irish criminals spent six months staking out the singer's Dublin mansion.

 

Frances, the daughter of gangster Martin 'The General' Cahill, has claimed in her new book that the plans were dropped after her father forbade the gang from going ahead with the plot.

09.10.2007

Out in Paperback

 

 

The paperback edition of 'U2 by U2' is published in the US today, October 9th.

 

 

Published in hardback a year ago, U2 by U2 is the first time each member of the band – and manager Paul McGuinness - has told their own story from their earliest childhood memories to their first meeting with each other, from those opening chords in Larry’s kitchen to becoming the biggest act in rock’n’roll.

 

With more than 1500 images including previously unpublished photographs from personal collections, it's a great read and it got great reviews.

 

'There are no shortage of books about U2 and many of them aren't worth the paper they're written on. This is different because the cod psychology is abandoned and the boys simply tell their story – and tell it well.' Irish Independent.

 

'This book is a brilliantly realised concept, dense in its factual content with many rare photos.' Mail on Sunday

 

‘It’s a shame every band can’t make a book like this.’ Record Collector

 

 

Amazon have got a very cool video introduction you can find by scrolling half way down here:

 

http://www.amazon.com/U2/dp/0060776749/ref...7274&sr=1-1

Bono denies Spice Girls collaboration

RTE

 

Bono has denied speculation he will team up with the Spice Girls to record a new song.

 

The re-united pop stars are due to release a greatest hits album before Christmas and it was reported Bono had been enlisted by record label bosses to write a track for them.

 

But U2 manager Paul McGuinness has denied the speculation.

 

He said: "We're great fans of the Spice Girls. But rumours that Bono is to join them as a sixth member is sadly not true.

 

However British super-producer Mark Ronson is desperate to work with the five-piece.

 

Ronson said: "I love the Spice Girls. I think their music is great. I would love to do a remix of 'Stop' - that's easily my favourite