Uinseann MacEoin, who has died at the age of 87, was an architect and planner, fearless journalist and author, veteran republican, leading campaigner for the conservation of Georgian Dublin and an enthusiastic mountain climber - the first Irishman to "bag" all 284 "Munros" - Scottish peaks higher than 3,000ft. He will be remembered chiefly as the founder and first editor of Plan magazine in its heyday, from 1967 to 1974, when it was a crusading journal that castigated planners, politicians, roads engineers, property developers and speculators, documenting and criticising their depredations on the fabric of Dublin in forthright terms. "He loved being the sand in a machine. If there was a church of contrarians, he would have been the high priest," says his eldest son, Nuada, who took over the architectural practice. He was indefatigable, in the true sense, at least until he succumbed to old age. At his best, he gave a clarion call for the protection of Dublin's heritage. Along with his wife, Margaret, he was not afraid of putting up money to save elements of the city's Georgian heritage when they were at risk.
