It's not a hen party hellscape': Dublin's Temple Bar strives to shake off its bad reputation

"When Ireland redeveloped a swathe of central Dublin in the 1990s, the idea was to create a version of Paris's Left Bank, a cultural quarter of cobbled lanes, art and urban renewal. Planners and architects transformed the run-down Temple Bar site by the River Liffey into an ambitious experiment that drew throngs of visitors and won awards. Three decades later, there are some withering verdicts on what happened next. It seems that Temple Bar is becoming a violent post-apocalyptic place, a judge said last year after sentencing a man who bludgeoned a victim with a can of cider. It's shocking to see it, that people can't be safe down there."

"Since then, there have been more grim headlines, including the alleged mugging of a visiting NFL quarterback and an assault on an English tourist who later died. A study of online reviews rated Temple Bar the world's third biggest tourist trap, reinforcing the perception of a raucous, brawling district best left to stag parties. It adds up to a crushing indictment of the original vision: instead of art and culture, crime and overpriced Guinness."

"There is, however, an alternative view that Temple Bar is a victim of outdated stereotyping and that a renaissance is under way, making the area a vibrant and a worthy home for organisations such as the Irish Film Institute, Project Arts Centre, Smock Alley Theatre and Graphic Studio Gallery. It is Dublin's cultural quarter, said Martin Harte, the chief executive officer of the Temple Bar Company, a business association. The era of massive drinking it's not that now."

In the 1990s planners redeveloped Dublin's Temple Bar into a cultural quarter of cobbled lanes, galleries and urban renewal, attracting visitors and awards. Over three decades the area became dominated by nightlife, with rising incidents of violence, pub-crawling crowds, and complaints that it is unsafe and uninhabitable. High-profile assaults and tourist-targeted crimes reinforced a reputation as a rowdy, overpriced tourist trap. A countervailing perspective emphasizes ongoing cultural life and regeneration, pointing to institutions like the Irish Film Institute, Project Arts Centre, Smock Alley Theatre and Graphic Studio Gallery. Local business groups assert that mass drinking has declined and the area remains a cultural quarter.

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