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Dublin City Council will take legal action over the demolition of O’Rahilly’s house earlier this week.
The property at 40 Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, in Dublin was the former home of O’Rahilly, the only leader who died in fighting during the 1916 Uprising.
Derryroe Ltd, a company owned by the McSharry and Kennedy families who own the Herbert Park Hotel, asked An Bord Pleanála to develop 105 apartments on the site last May.
The development was approved by the board on September 8, despite objections from Dublin city councilors, local residents, 1916 relatives, and O’Rahilly’s grandson, Proinsias Ó Rathaille.
Board approval was subject to an eight-week period before works could begin, to allow for any legal challenge to the decision.
Despite this, in the early morning of Tuesday, September 29, the property was demolished, prompting strong criticism from TD and councilors, including Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
Notice of execution
On Friday, the city council issued a notice of execution regarding the demolition of the property.
The council said in a statement that the notice “broadly requires the cessation of all works in accordance with the permit on the site, until all conditions precedent to commencement and associated submissions have been considered and determined by the City of Dublin. He said penalties for non-compliance include fines or possible imprisonment.
Several days after the apartment development was approved, councilors voted in favor of the building being added to the registry of protected structures, due to its historical importance.
Sinn Féin Councilor Mícheál Mac Donncha had initially proposed the motion for the property to receive protected status in April 2020.
As part of this process, council officials should inspect the site to determine if they recommend that it be placed on the list of protected structures. The council first wrote to the developer seeking access to the site on April 28.
Law firm McCann Fitzgerald wrote to the council on July 1, on behalf of Derryroe Ltd, requesting the council’s chief executive, Owen Keegan, to confirm within two weeks that the council would not go through with the sheltered structure process.
The council responded by affirming their right to assess the property as a protected structure.
Inspect property
On September 2, several days before An Bord Pleanála approved the development, the council sent a second letter requesting permission to inspect the property and assess whether it could be considered suitable for protected structure status. On September 14, the developer issued a notice of commencement for the demolition of the Ballsbridge house.
The council’s report said that this notice was validated by its building control office “based on information entered by the developer.”
The report stated that “this does not allow the developer to carry out works without complying with the relevant planning conditions as established in the ABP permit granting.
McCann Fitzgerald, attorneys for Derryroe Ltd, were contacted for comment.
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