IF YOU WERE IN the Humanities faculty in DCU, you probably haunted the Henry Grattan Building (we guess you could call it the Arts Block, if you wanted to)
It wasn’t as swish as the science or nursing buildings, but it was ours, goddammit.
1. You’ve wondered how Henry Grattan would feel about having this particular building named after him
It’s leaky, smelly, dim, and slightly grim. Er, just like the man who campaigned for the freedom of the Irish parliament?
2. And thanked your lucky stars for the couches in The Street
For when you managed to drag your hungover self into college, but couldn’t bring yourself to actually go to classes.
3. The room numbers made almost no sense
You start to feel comfortable with your C104s and CG12s. Then life deals you a lecture in CG68, and you have to reassess all that you know about the building.
4. And venturing up to the second floor was an adventure
You were looking for a printer. Instead, you found two computer rooms, several offices, and the Room of Requirement.
5. The path from the Henry G to the library was your Everest
It doesn’t look all that far away, but that’s just an illusion. The walk never ends.
Students have been campaigning for a travelator for YEARS. Make it happen, DCU.
6. The stairwells were a hub of young creative talent
A short film being shot here, an interview being recorded there. Great works that sadly would never be seen or heard outside the computer labs.
7. But the doors into the building were sent straight from hell
You can open them, but it takes most of your upper body strength to do so.
*waits ten minutes for the automatic door to slowly creak open*
8. You still get hearts in your eyes when you think about the Mac labs
All those lovely computers with the big screens and up-to-date editing software.
9. But trying to get to one when you were on deadline was highly taxing
Towards the end of the semester you’ll find people actually waiting for the caretaker to come and unlock the building.
10. And it was devastating when motion sensor lights forgot about you and popped off
That’s when you know you’ve been sitting motionless before a computer screen for hours, truly in a pickle.
11. Yet despite its many faults, you considered the Henry Grattan a second home
More than a few people have wondered if they could rent one of the couches and live there instead. It would certainly have made things easier.
