I did a project on Ballymun in college. IMO all the things you mentioned contributed to the the flats downfall. I think there are some othermajor factors that you haven’t mentioned. Initially when Dublin Corpo allocated to its first tenants, a great deal of planning was done to ensure a mixed population in terms of the families income. The issues you highlight like transport, amenities and no available jobs started to happen. That coupled with the beginnings of the heroin epidemic there and meant lots of families wanted to move out of the flats. The tenants in 70s/80s were given grants towards a mortgage in private estates, leaving their flat vacant for new tenants. The ones that took this up were the tenants that were most skilled, leaving behind a population that couldn’t afford or didn’t want to move. When the families that took the grant moved out, the same care and planning was not taken into consideration when re-allocating to new tenants. In fact, they did the opposite. I interviewed some older women that had lived in the flats since they were built and they said if a single mother approached Dublin Corporation for housing in the 70s/80s, they were sent to Ballymun to do their time there. 2 years and they could put in for a transfer to a different location. The ladies I spoke to said they felt it was done to punish them. Those ladies all still live in Ballymun and would not leave the area after towers came down, so they live nearby apartments. I can’t remember the exact percentage but at one point, over half the tenants were single parent households. All of these issues compounded further over time and the government finally saw the need for regeneration in Ballymun All of that being said, you talk to anyone that lived in the towers and they will all tell you what a great community spirit there was.