It was to be a microcosm of the city, providing dignity, comfort, and convenience to bus users.

From its inception the project was gripped in controversy, over the location, design, function, and cost. Battles were waged on the floor of the Dáil, in Dublin Corporation Committee meetings and the letters of various newspapers. Construction ground to a halt for three years as Government and opposition argued over the merits and uses of the building. In the end it became home to the Department of Social Protection and Bus Éireann’s provincial bus services. Despite receiving widespread acclaim for its architectural and design innovations, today it is a much maligned and misunderstood building.

In this exciting collaboration, writer Eoin Ó Broin and photographer Mal McCann explore the vision behind Áras Mhic Dhiarmada and Busáras, and celebrate the energy, creativity, and neglect of this incredible example of Irish modernist architecture and design.