Go on, Mr. Bono, Sir, do whatever you will

Ireland has once again deployed its apparent "one rule for Bono" legislation by approving the U2 plans to ruin ("renovate") The Clarence Hotel in Dublin.

Despite it being in a Conservation Area and everything:

"We would obviously condemn the decision. It undermines national legislation on architectural heritage because of the number of protected sites being demolished," said Ian Lumley, an officer with An Taisce, Ireland's heritage-protection organization.

Lumley said Foster's grandiose design was "a very impressively conceived scheme but in the wrong place. This would not be allowed in areas of comparable sensitivity in any other European countries."

We've stayed at the Clarence, and given the lift broke down twice and it was impossible to switch off the radiator in the room - we ended up having to cover it with all the duvets to try and get the temperature down to something lower than sauna - we'd suggest that Bono and his chums might want to try running a hotel well before building a larger one.

The planning permission insist on the retention of some of the Georgian facades and, at least, the hotel won't be as blighty as the Bono Ego Tower being thrust into the skyline further down the Liffey.