Why did plans to build civic offices at Wood Quay cause public opposition?

The decision by the Dublin Corporation to construct civic offices at Wood Quay in the late 1970s sparked significant public opposition because the site was located on the remains of an early Norse riverbank settlement.1

Excavations that began in the 1960s had revealed a wealth of archaeological evidence from this period, and the proposed development threatened to destroy these historically significant findings. The conflict highlighted a tension between modern urban development and the preservation of Ireland's cultural and historical heritage.1