The Irish Times

The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, is to ask the Cabinet to approve a new Dublin site for the Abbey Theatre within a matter of weeks. The Minister is currently studying two sites, Hawkins House - the home of the Department of Health which was once the site of the Theatre Royal - and Coláiste Mhuire, a former school, on Parnell Square. A third site at Infirmary Road has been ruled out because it is perceived to be too far from the the city centre. Another possibility, the former Carlton Cinema site in O'Connell Street, has been dropped because of a legal dispute over ownership. A spokesman for Mr O'Donoghue insisted last night that no decision on the two final sites had yet been made, but the Minister was particularly keen to resolve the issue before Christmas, allowing the decision on the future of the Abbey to be taken in its centenary year.