charges were laid. Sullivan resigned in 1924 to pursue other theatrical enterprises. Union controversy Eleven men were brought before the Dublin District Court and bound to six months of good behaviour, and banned from picketing the Queens Theatre, after they were charged with illegal picketing in late 1924. It was a muscle-flexing exercise by trade unionist James Larkin and his new Worker's Union of Ireland, following the theatre's ownership change the previous week. Larkin had just been released from Sing Sing and had returned to Ireland the previous year, and had fallen out of favour with his former union, the ITGWU. Final days The Abbey Theatre took over the building after the Abbey fire of 1951 and remained until July 1966. The lease was then put up for sale. Trinity College Dublin were the ground landlords, but the Department of Education refused to grant them the funds to purchase the building. The lease was purchased by Herbert McNally, who was involved in the cinema business. He attempted to secure planning permission to build a office block, and when this was refused he sold it to George Colley. The theatre closed in 1969 and was demolished in 1975. The new building, Áras An Phiarsaigh, was built on the site. References Ryan, Philip B. The Lost Theatres of Dublin. (The Badger Press, 1998) Theatres in Dublin (city) Theatres completed in 1829 Buildings and structures demolished in 1975 Demolished buildings and structures in Dublin