The City Council has initiated legal proceedings against the owners of four derelict houses in Cathedral Square which, Cllr Pat Hayes says, have fallen into ‘rack and ruin’.

At Monday night’s meeting of the Council, Cllr Hayes described Cathedral Square as one of the most beautiful areas in the city, adding that the condition that these houses had fallen into was a disgrace, with windows broken, graffiti and chipboarded doors.

“It is terrible to think that the heart of the Viking city is in such a poor condition”, Cllr Hayes added.

Director of Services Paddy Power told the meeting that the Council had commenced the process of instigating legal proceedings in that case, while Collette Byrne said the local authority’s graffiti crew were losing the battle at the moment, such was the extent of the graffiti situation in the city.