This report presents a sociological study of everyday life in the Dolphin House flat complex during an extended and ongoing regeneration process. Using ethnographic methods, interviews and creative practice, the research documents how residents experience housing, community and regeneration in their daily lives. The study finds that Dolphin House is characterised by a strong, multigenerational community sustained through proximity, shared routines and long-standing social networks. These everyday rhythms provide residents with a sense of belonging, safety and mutual support, even in the context of significant material disadvantage and poor housing conditions. However, the research also shows that prolonged and uncertain regeneration processes have had a destabilising effect on everyday life. Delays, unclear timelines and repeated consultation without clear outcomes have produced ongoing stress, insecurity and a sense of powerlessness among residents. Regeneration is experienced not as a single event, but as a long-term condition of uncertainty that disrupts daily routines, family life and future planning. Moreover, this experience diverges from institutional commitments that regeneration is to be progressed in a reasonable timeline and that transition phases would be temporary and minimised. The absence of structured mechanisms to assess and mitigate the health and wellbeing impacts of regeneration is also notable.

A key policy finding is that the absence of a formal tenant participation model in Irish housing policy limits residents’ ability to influence decisions that directly affect their lives. Again, this arguably contrasts with institutional commitments and in particular that any decisions affecting the community have to be agreed by the community and Dublin City Council together at the Joint Regeneration Board suggesting that Dolphin House has benefited from strong community mobilisation and some meaningful consultation, participation has often lacked decision-making power and accountability. Where formal regeneration commitments emphasised partnership and joint decisionmaking, there is evidence of a gap between these commitments and residents’ lived experience, with participation often operating at a consultative rather than decision-making level. This has contributed to mistrust and frustration over broken promises and stalled delivery.

Social regeneration initiatives have played an important role in supporting residents and sustaining community life during regeneration. However, these initiatives have been constrained by limited resources, unclear mandates and weak integration with statutory services. Responsibility for managing the social impacts of regeneration has often fallen disproportionately on community organisations. Overall, the study concludes that regeneration policy must move beyond a narrow focus on physical delivery to address the social and temporal dimensions of housing change. Attending to everyday life and community rhythms is essential to delivering regeneration that is socially sustainable and just. Formally, the potential use of a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) would potentially allow for the systematic identification of risks associated with prolonged uncertainty, displacement, and poor living conditions. Finally, this study suggests that where regeneration cannot be delivered within a clear and reasonable timeframe, the findings raise the question of whether prolonged regeneration may produce harms that outweigh its intended benefits.