Road Closure and Newspaper Advertisements Fingal Alerts For Out of Hours Emergency Flooding Contact Details  Fingal a library in each of the towns Please see individual library for opening times Archaeological Information and Advice  Architectural Conservation Area (ACA) Register  Heritage Plan Monuments and Places Record  Protected Structures Record Adopt a Patch Conservation and Leakage Conservation Campaign Composting Initiative Seagull Information Leaflet Green Dog Walkers Initiative Reuse Month 2022 The Fingal Water Project Housing Construction Programme Project Talamh Call for Properties Planning Permission Extension of Duration of Planning Permission Part V Planning Exemption Certificates Vacant Sites Register Current Job Opportunities and Results Draft Dublin Airport Local Area Plan Proposed Variation No. 1 To Fingal Development Plan 2017 - 2023 Part 8 - Proposed Construction of new Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge in Donabate Part 8 - Proposed development of 69 no. dwellings & associated site works at Cappaghfinn, Cappagh Road, Finglas, Dublin 11 Annual Reports Budgets, Expenditure and Financial Statements Data Protection Council Meetings Fingal County Council is committed to delivering additional high-quality community facilities to support Donabate and Portrane’s growing population The population on the Donabate peninsula rose by 35% over 11 years from 8,733 in 2011 to 11,783 in 2022 according to the Central Statistic Office and  is continuing to rise as development gets underway on land unlocked by the €15m distributor road which opened in 2020 and was funded by the Council and the Department of Housing The Council has committed significant investment  to projects in the area with a focus on three key locations - Ballisk  Ballymastone and Newbridge House and Demesne - as part of an approach which ensures better facilities and efficient use of infrastructure to the benefit of the whole community Chief Executive of Fingal County Council said: “This significant investment reflects Donabate’s planned population growth and ensures top-tier amenities for residents now and in the future We continually assess needs right across the county and then plan strategically to address deficits having taken everything into account.” A major project about to get underway is the Council-funded €4m refurbishment of the Donabate Portrane Community Centre over the next two years This will take advantage of the opportunity to repurpose the space being freed up by the relocation of Donabate Library to Ballisk House and will further enhance the centre’s offering Using the space made available by the Library’s relocation two large high quality new community rooms will now be available for use by community and cultural groups throughout the week The project also includes a significant investment in the community centre building to bring it up to modern building regulation standards and enhance the comfort and safety of all users.  Refurbishment work at Ballisk House commenced in January and the €1.9m project is due to be completed by the end of the year The Council purchased the building in 2022 after the closure of Donabate Credit Union following representations from local councillors and the community who were keen to retain the building as a piece of community infrastructure.  Phase one will deliver a contemporary library with children’s and young adult areas on the ground floor of the building The installation of wheelchair accessible lifts will provide access to the adult lending area and a library events space on the first floor The new library will also be a ‘My Open Library’ which will give registered members access to the building beyond normal staffed hours Planning has begun for Phase Two of the project which will consider the addition of an extension to the building to further enhance library facilities The Council has also identified funding from the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage for the Ballymastone Recreation Hub where a large-scale multi-million euro community and education campus is in development with the first phase almost finished This funding is contingent on the ongoing provision of affordable homes as part of the Balmoston project.  When completed the Hub will house all-weather GAA and soccer pitches and an athletics track as well a playground and skate park The Donabate Local Area Plan sets out the land zoning and vision for how the Ballymastone campus will ultimately include a number of schools with shared community facilities that will be made available to cultural community and sporting groups from the peninsula sporting and cultural activities at the one location will facilitate delivery of higher quality facilities based on shared construction The funding for this €10m project has been identified through the Government’s Service Site Fund however the expenditure of the funding is contingent on the delivery of  affordable housing at Balmoston where the Council and Glenveagh Homes have partnered to provide 1,200 homes of which 20% will be affordable and 20% will be social.  The Council also makes a substantial annual investment in Infrastructure and Green Spaces in Donabate and Portrane as well as specific projects such as the award-winning wetlands restoration at St Ita’s in Portrane and the Donabate Pedestrian Bridge.  The Council is currently working with the National Transport Authority to link Newbridge House and Malahide Castle through the creation of a six kilometre pedestrian and cycling route across the Broadmeadow Estuary and this will link into the Fingal Coastal Way which is a 32km pedestrian and cycle route from Donabate to Balbriggan and is being planned in partnership with Transport Infrastructure Ireland Another major transportation project is the improvement of the Hearse Road which links Donabate to Junction 4 on the M1 and is currently at the design stage Donabate is also home to the 370 acre Newbridge House and Demesne which one of Fingal’s major regional parks and where the Council is continually investing in upgrade and conservation projects to the house Current projects include the restoration of the heritage glasshouses and the reintroduction of Giant Redwoods to the park A recent project to repair the roof of Newbridge House and restore the front façade cost over €1m.  The Councill is also working on a €20m plan with the Office of Public Works to protect The Burrow in Portrane from coastal erosion and has already spent in excess of €1m on Seabees as a temporary measure to protect the dune system as well as housing and businesses.  which was approved by councillors a year ago will guide future development within the Donabate town centre area to create a vibrant and sustainable town core which will support and encourage economic social and cultural development and provide an attractive high-quality environment for existing and future residents The ambition of the Donabate Local Area Plan is to provide for the structured development of the identified new residential areas of Donabate so that they integrate into the established village and support the continued growth of a vibrant and attractive town for existing and future residents New development will be accompanied by the required community drainage and recreational infrastructure to ensure the protection and enhancement of local amenities and the continued growth of local services in Donabate “There is a robust set of plans in place for Donabate from the County Development Plan to the Local Area Plan to the Framework Plan,” noted AnnMarie Farrelly “All these plans have been through public consultation and approved by our councillors they set out the Council’s vision and objectives for Donabate and form the roadmap for our substantial investment in community infrastructure on the peninsula.”  All Rights Reserved © Fingal County Council Ireland’s first EuroDreams win of 2025 has landed in Donabate This is a life-enhancing prize for our latest National Lottery winner which will be paid in monthly tax-free payments of €2,000 over 5 years.Darragh O’DwyerNational Lottery SpokespersonA dream win has landed in Donabate Dublin is officially revealed as the store to have sold Ireland’s first winning high tier EuroDreams ticket of 2025 The amazing Tier 2 prize is worth €2,000 per month for the next 5 years The winning Quick Pick ticket was purchased on the day of the draw from the Maxol Garage The winning numbers in Thursday’s (20th March) EuroDreams draw were: 16 The National Lottery is urging all players in the North Co. Dublin area to check their tickets carefully and if you’re holding the winning ticket, be sure to contact the National Lottery prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie to arrange the collection of your prize Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport more than €6.5 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 37 years ago €227.9 Million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland Player from Killester in Dublin Wins €255,000 in first EuroMillions Ireland Only Raffle Event!\",\"datePublished\":\"3/05/2025\",\"targetUrl\":\"/news/winners-stories//player-from-killester-in-dublin-wins-255000-in-first-euromillions-ireland-only-raffle-event\",\"imageUrl\":\"https://cdn2.lottery.ie/uploads/NO_FEE_NATIONAL_LOTTERY_DREAM_INSPECTOR_JB_4_b55b63e03e.jpg\"}],[\"$\",\"$L2b\",null,{\"articleCard\":{\"ref\":\"$undefined\"},\"articleTitle\":\"May Day Delight May Day Delight! Dublin Lotto Player Celebrates €31,778 Win!1/05/2025 Youghal Wins Big With €500,000 EuroMillions Plus Win!30/04/2025 cash and the Rolex watch seized in the raid Gardaí in Swords who carried out a search of a house in Donabate in North County Dublin got “lucky” when they found drugs cash and a watch they believe was bought through the proceeds of crime Officers called out to execute a warrant at the address that they suspected was being used in the sale and supply of drugs in the area they discovered about €22,000 worth of cannabis €12,500 in cash and a Rolex watch that is alleged to have been purchased with the proceeds of crime during their search,” gardai posted on their Facebook page “One person (20s) was arrested and has since been charged to appear before Balbriggan District Court tomorrow morning as part of this investigation.” Please check your inbox to verify your details Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. Available on Apple and Android devices A youth and arts centre is planned for Ballisk House in Donabate A number of councillors from north County Dublin are backing a proposal for a multi-functional youth and arts space in Donabate and Social Democrats councillor Paul Mulville have all welcomed proposals from Fingal County Council to provide a “much-needed” multi-functional centre The three local councillors are working with the local community youth groups and council management to urgently progress the project which would be located at Ballisk House in Donabate “As councillors representing the Donabate–Portrane area it became abundantly clear to us during the local election campaign in 2024 that the community needs a multi-functional youth and arts space given our rapidly growing young population,” they said “The council’s recent Community Sports and Recreation Audit backs this up “Such vital community infrastructure must be provided in tandem with residential development and many in our community feel angry this has not been happening “The 2016 Local Area Plan for lands at Donabate provided for an additional circa 4,000 homes and also contains an important objective for the provision of a multi-purpose community “Following a very well-attended public meeting in 2023 the Donabate–Portrane Crossroads Campaign was formed with a mandate to campaign for a multi-functional arts we kept this campaign on the agenda at council level and also during meetings with the CEO and senior officials “We greatly welcome the fact that Fingal County Council acquired Ballisk House when the credit union closed the facility the proposals were to move the local library from the existing location in Donabate–Portrane Community Centre and provide a standalone library in Ballisk House we feel these proposals did not have the benefit of targeted community consultation and engagement around the various possible uses of the building nor were the proposals brought before the previous elected council for formal approval “The council will now be working to get the views of local Donabate–Portrane residents in the coming weeks around these new proposals and we hope that the community at large will agree this is the best use for the site “We are confident this new space can be open for the local youth and arts community by the end of the year,” they added Fingal is the fastest-growing part of the country and the local authority sees the region as one of the main areas for residential development in Dublin in the years to come The council said it believed the region has the capacity to facilitate the development of more than 16,000 residential units over the course of its current development plan It said that in the first seven months of 2024 work had commenced on more than 3,300 units about 1,200 homes were being provided in one of the largest developments in the country Dublin News‘We would love to recruit younger donors and start them on a lifetime of blood donation’A new campaign has been launched encouraging people to consider becoming regular blood donors The legal action will likely delay hundreds of homes And it jeopardises a planned €10 million sports hub A Donabate community group is seeking a judicial review of the planning permission granted for the second phase of a big housing development at Ballymastone On 13 January, following an appeal, An Bord Pleanála permitted Glenveagh Living Limited to go ahead with building 364 homes on what were council lands About 1,200 homes are expected to be built during the three phases of the Ballymaston scheme, one of the largest housing developments in the country 20 percent social homes and 20 percent affordable homes But DP Crossroads – a local residents’ group with some councillors involved – has long sought more community infrastructure, beyond sports facilities, as part of the build. It wants a cultural and youth centre The group submitted papers seeking the judicial review on 10 March, court records show The move sparked loud debate within Fingal County Council chambers during the March monthly meeting that evening – with accusations flying that the judicial review was taken in bad faith and that it jeopardised the planned construction of a €10 million sports hub at Ballymaston A council spokesperson said Tuesday that the judicial review will delay the second phase of the major project Construction on 432 homes in phase one at Ballymastone has been underway since August 2023 has been working its way through the planning system In August last year, Fingal County Council planners approved Glenveagh’s proposal for the second phase DP Crossroads was one of three parties who appealed that decision to An Bord Pleanála A community facility should be provided in the development in accordance with the Donabate local area plan At Fingal’s monthly council meeting on 10 March independent Councillor Jimmy Guerin tabled a motion asking elected representatives “in light of recent developments and the current housing crisis” to reiterate their support for the Ballymastone project and the council executive’s initiatives to deliver housing The mood within the chamber was already tense after a previous motion on the tenant-in-situ scheme and recriminations between Fine Gael and Sinn Féin members Guerin submitted the motion three hours and one extension into the meeting But he was concerned at the group’s decision to hold a public meeting a week earlier But he was told that the group had been considering ways to pressure the council to deliver a cultural centre “As the one outside the door is not near enough.” This centre “outside the door” was a reference to Donabate’s current community centre on the Portrane Road Space in the building is supposed to free up once the library is moved to nearby Ballisk House Labour Councillor Corina Johnston has said that won’t do enough to address the shortage of community infrastructure The audience at the campaign group’s meeting were presented with “motions” to try to get Glenveagh to deliver community infrastructure with the houses email campaign to the council’s chief executive alleging that DP Crossroads’ review was intended to delay construction in Ballymastone in order to get the council to meet their demands Guerin pointed out that three councillors – Johnston the Social Democrats’ Paul Mulville and Fine Gael’s Eoghan Dockrell – are on DP Crossroads’ committee At the council meeting the evening of 10 March Labour councillors Brendan Ryan and Brian McDonagh warned Guerin about directly discussing the judicial review Guerin said he was addressing it with caution said Guerin was imputing improper motives against members of the council “I’m actually shocked from what I’m hearing from councillor Guerin.” Suggesting that a judicial review had been launched to delay the delivery of housing was false too “A judicial review has been taken in terms of planning advice received on planning grounds It’s absolutely shocking what he’s saying.” Guerin said he wouldn’t withdraw the claim that any actions were intended to apply pressure The public meeting in Donabate took place on the evening of Wednesday 5 March in the Shoreline Hotel It was a community meeting, says an announcement on the group’s Facebook page inviting locals to help decide a direction forward for the campaign said they were looking to better engage with the community in Donabate and Portrane just because this was about the community,” said Hogan last Wednesday it was a listening exercise where the DP Crossroads group wanted to listen to different groups and hear from them what they thought about a cultural youth centre,” he said “The community was united in the need to ensure there was adequate infrastructure to match a rapidly growing population.” Hogan chaired the discussion and told those gathered about steps they had been considering “We wanted to get a general sense of what people are comfortable with,” she says and the majority of people said you need to do this.” The judicial review stems from what they argue are breaches of the local area plan and planning legislation “That’s why we decided then to take the judicial review because even though we’ve highlighted this to the county we just need the social infrastructure,” she says A strategic aim in the Donabate local area plan – which first ran from 2016 to 2020 and was later extended until 2026 – is to deliver community infrastructure in tandem with the phased development of new homes But a social and community infrastructure audit submitted by Glenveagh as part of its planning application for phase two of the housing scheme concluded that they didn’t need to include any community facilities in this phase “We submit that there are established and yet to be delivered community facilities which will meet the demand created by the future residents of the proposed development,” its audit said pointing to the council’s recreational hub which is planned nearby The audit had said that Donabate has a swimming pool when it doesn’t that it had three GPs when it actually has two Guerin said the case taken by DP Crossroads could delay the second phase of construction at Ballymastone Independent Councillor Tony Murphy said people looking to buy affordable housing could be denied an opportunity because of this delay and trying to arm wrestle Fingal County Council into position to give something that wasn’t agreed on the floor in the council,” he said Donabate’s local area plan was adopted by the council and many councillors in the chamber The local area plan outlines 4,000 new houses in Donabate most of which have been either granted permission or are under construction said he is fully in support of building social and affordable homes But the three councillors who went to the public meeting had been told non-stop while door knocking before elections that Donabate needs community infrastructure from members who don’t know Donabate and Portrane as well as we do that this was an anti-housing sentiment,” he said Local councillors have also put in motions at area committees to lobby for multi-functional community facilities “It is very clear that the council do not want to provide this facility.” the council was investing €4 million in a refurbishment of the existing Donabate-Portrane community centre and €1.9 million in the new library in Ballisk House “That project is on site as we speak,” she said Independents 4 Change Councillor Dean Mulligan said people living in Donabate are dealing with a dearth of basic infrastructure, including regular power outages, packed trains and a privatised local bus link Planning applications aren’t dealing with infrastructure the current residents of Donabate would tell you while it’s a beautiful coastal peninsula and a fabulous area to walk around it is absolutely deprived of the necessary infrastructure needed to make it grow.” Guerin’s original motion was amended to say that the council would ensure it kept to the objectives of the Donabate local area plan by delivering community and physical infrastructure in tandem with the phased development of housing Labour Councillor Corina Johnston said she was appalled by the statements made at the 10 March council meeting in relation to the public meeting None of the councillors making the claims were in attendance The meeting was about an ongoing campaign for a multifunctional arts At the 10 March meeting, Fianna Fáil Councillor Darragh Butler asked Farrelly, the council’s chief executive, what impact the judicial review will have on the sports and recreational hub The hub, which councillors approved on 13 September 2021 is due to be delivered by the council as part of the Ballymastone project and is set to consist of all-weather GAA and soccer pitches Funding for the €10 million project has been identified through the government’s Service Sites Fund,  says a 13 March council press release The drawdown of that funding is dependent on the construction of affordable and social homes on the adjoining Balmaston site If that social and affordable housing isn’t delivered will delay the second phase of the project Michael Lanigan is a reporter at Dublin Inquirer You can reach him at michael@dublininquirer.com You've successfully subscribed to Dublin InQuirer Check your email for magic link to sign-in 1) 0ms,border-color 250ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;transition:background-color 250ms cubic-bezier(0.4 1) 0ms;color:#1976d2;padding:0px;min-width:0;}.css-1sgza6o:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;background-color:rgba(25 0.04);}@media (hover: none){.css-1sgza6o:hover{background-color:transparent;}}.css-1sgza6o.Mui-disabled{color:rgba(0 1) 0ms;color:#1976d2;padding:0px;min-width:0;}.css-w5p45x::-moz-focus-inner{border-style:none;}.css-w5p45x.Mui-disabled{pointer-events:none;cursor:default;}@media print{.css-w5p45x{-webkit-print-color-adjust:exact;color-adjust:exact;}}.css-w5p45x:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;background-color:rgba(25 0.04);}@media (hover: none){.css-w5p45x:hover{background-color:transparent;}}.css-w5p45x.Mui-disabled{color:rgba(0 0.26);}PrintShareSaveThe death has occurred of Predeceased by his parents Christina and Tom Traynor beloved husband of Gerardine (Ger) (née O’Reilly) and cherished father of Conor and Cliodhna Sadly missed and remembered by all of his loving family; brothers Kevin and Niall Bernard will repose at his home on Tuesday evening (18th March) from 4pm to 8pm Removal on Wednesday morning (19th March) to St Click here at 11:30am on Wednesday morning to view live streaming of the Funeral Mass Conor and Cliodhna would like to take this opportunity to thank the doctors Vincent’s University Hospital for taking such good care of Bernard during his time with them and they would especially like to thank Bernard’s amazing close family and friends for all their help and support at this very difficult time All enquiries to JP Ward & Sons Funeral Home, Sandyford Village Tel: (01) 2135905 Funeral Service.css-h76uj{display:inherit;margin-right:-4px;margin-left:8px;}Date Published: CondolencesDonate to CharityWould you like to mark a birthday memorial mass or anniversary for a Loved One?You can now create a family notice on RIP.ie to remember your loved one "Another important hub for the local community.” Work has commenced on the new Donabate Library which is scheduled to open by the end of this year The development of the new public library at Ballisk House is one of a number of projects being undertaken by Fingal County Council that will enhance the provision of community facilities in the Donabate area as envisaged under the Donabate Framework Plan and the Capital Programme agreed by the elected members of Fingal County Council last October said: “I am delighted that the contractor is on site and work has begun on Donabate’s new library which will offer so much more to the local community than just books The move from its present location in the Community Centre will also free up significant space which can now be used by different groups on the Donabate peninsula.” The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council said: “Following the closure of the Credit Union it was important for us to ensure that Ballisk House remained a building for the community and it is an ideal location for Donabate Library which now has the opportunity to increase the variety of services it offers to the people of Donabate and Portrane.”  Fingal County Council acquired Ballisk House in 2022 following the decision of the Progressive Credit Union to close its Donabate branch which had been located in the premises The land had originally been owned by the Council but was sold in 1995 to Donabate Credit Union to facilitate the building of Ballisk House Vision Contracting were appointed last December to carry out the refurbishment works on Ballisk House and went on site at the end of January to commence phase one of a two phase project It is anticipated that the new library will open to the public by the end of this year said: “Fingal Libraries operate 10 library branches as well as a Local Studies and Archives service and the transformation of Ballisk House into a new library for Donabate and Portrane is exciting It gives us an opportunity to create a state-of-the-art library that can accommodate the wide variety of services we offer as well as becoming another important hub for the local community.” DP Crossroads had sought a judicial review of a planning permission granted for housing at Ballymastone A local campaign group in Donabate has withdrawn its High Court judicial review taken against An Bord Pleanála DP Crossroads had last month sought a review of the board’s decision to grant planning permission to Glenveagh Living Limited for the second phase of a major housing development at Ballymastone The group argued that a community facility should have been provided by Glenveagh in the first phase, in accordance with Donabate’s local area plan before the board granted permission for the second phase The case was withdrawn by the campaign on 10 April, court records show That clears the way for Glenveagh to proceed with building the project’s phase two After DP Crossroads filed the judicial review on 10 March, Fingal county councillors split over the action independent Councillor Jimmy Guerin said the DP Crossroads activists were delaying the delivery of these houses It was a way of putting pressure on the council to deliver community infrastructure by halting the development of the second phase of the housing scheme as well as a major sports hub on council-owned lands The matter came up again at the less tense April meeting of the full council on Monday during a discussion on another judicial review across the Broadmeadow estuary in Malahide Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly said she was pleased to see the High Court’s decision to dismiss a challenge against Fingal County Council’s planned pedestrianisation of New Street in Malahide last week The planning permission was delayed almost three years by the legal challenge The council is now moving immediately to complete the detailed design of the public realm changes in Malahide a council press release issued on Tuesday said The €6 million project is expected to take 16 months used the opportunity to query DP Crossroads’ review of the Ballymastone project Was the council paying anything to discharge the DP Crossroads committee members’ costs or was it just the builder who paid the costs?” The council didn’t contribute anything in relation to any settlement of that judicial review There was a small amount of costs that the council did incur through the engagement of the council for the judicial review “But we did agree to the settlement without seeking any of those costs.” Guerin also wanted to know about a RedC poll that the council had agreed to carry out in relation to its redevelopment of Ballisk House which is due to be repurposed as the town’s library Work on restoring Ballisk House commenced in late February, according to the council website with work expected to be completed by the end of the year Guerin wanted confirmation that the results of the RedC poll would not change that and that any decision to amend the masterplan would need to be taken by the councillors in the chamber If the council is going to open up a debate around the future of Ballisk House it should take notes from the judicial review in Malahide and how much time could be lost here “I’d ask before you go back on site at the sports hub that you just make sure we’re not walking into another lion’s den,” he said RedC is being hired by the council to see if residents in the area actually want Ballisk House to be used as a library “There’s an understanding locally that that’s not the desired use of that building.” the council wants to get an understanding of what locals want to see in there The plan that the council is working towards here is the Donabate framework plan, as well as its capital programme If the poll comes back saying that locals aren’t in favour of moving the library then the council will need to ask councillors whether they are willing to change course “Any change to the projects listed in either or both of those plans will have to come back to council,” she said CORRECTION: This article was updated at 14.35 on 16 April 2025 to reflect that DP Crossroads withdrew their judicial review Social Democrats councillor Joan Hopkins highlighted ongoing issues at The Paddocks in Donabate Residents in a north Dublin housing estate have expressed their anger and frustration at the five-year delay for public areas and promised amenities to be completed People began moving into The Paddocks in Donabate in 2019 and the original planning permission included requirements for essential infrastructure such as footpaths and green spaces residents are left with incomplete walkways Social Democrats councillor Joan Hopkins recently visited The Paddocks and confirmed the ongoing issues have still to be addressed but the council doesn’t have the necessary legislative tools to follow up with developers,” she said Cllr Hopkins has been advocating for a deputation which would allow residents to address the council directly and request the completion of public areas and amenities “We’ve been pushing for this over the last few months to let Paddocks residents go in and speak directly to the council,” she said “The council has no control over how long a developer can take to hand an area over The council won’t take charge of an estate unless it’s up to a certain standard proposed a motion to amend the recent planning bill suggesting a time limit of roughly 18 months for developers to hand over a completed phase to the council residents in new – and sometimes older – estates can be left waiting decades for the council to take charge developers just walk off the pitch,” Cllr Hopkins added The council cannot assume responsibility for maintenance and other upkeep tasks until the developer completes these essential features and formally requests council management The lack of enforcement measures to ensure timely completion compounds the issue leaving residents are increasingly frustrated Other Donabate estates face similar delays where residents were left without public lighting for over a year after moving in Labour councillor Corina Johnston said the situation in The Paddocks unfortunately “isn’t unique” “We are seeing an increase in estates being left unfinished,” she said citing Cobbe Court and Glaslinn as examples “The difficulty is that the council does not take estates in charge unless they receive a request from the developer and some developers move on to other projects leaving estates unfinished and residents completely frustrated “The only recourse for residents is to submit a plebiscite to the planning authority to take the estate in charge and Cobbe Court are extremely frustrated with the situation Public open spaces cannot remain unfinished and unused it is unfair to families and young children,” she added A spokesperson for Fingal County Council said: “This is an open Fingal County Council planning enforcement file in respect of the Paddocks “The Council’s investigations are ongoing and we can make no further comment at this stage.” Aljaco Limited has been contacted for comment Hardiman, Brian-Thomas -1st February 2025, (St Michael’s House, Donabate), (Peacefully), surrounded by his loving family and in the wonderful care of staff at Donabate Residential House. Adored son of Ann and Brian, brother of Ann-Marie and Michael, uncle of Patrick and Bram, brother -in-law David. Brian-Thomas will be forever missed by his, parents, sister, brother, brother-in-law, nephews, extended family, friends, neighbours and his housemates in Donabate House, Siobhan, Carol, Chip, Paul and Philip. Removal on Thursday morning to the Church of St Patrick, Donabate arriving for Funeral Mass at 10am followed by cremation service in Dardistown Crematorium to celebrate Brian-Thomas’s life at 12.30pm. Brian-Thomas’s family would like to thank all the staff in Donabate House For all their unconditional love, care and support shown Brian Thomas over the years. In lieu of flowers donations to St Michael's House would be greatly appreciated. Funeral Service.css-h76uj{display:inherit;margin-right:-4px;margin-left:8px;}Cremation / BurialDate Published: If you would like to make a donation to the chosen charity please click on the button below. the council won’t maintain and improve the public areas Linda Nugent was walking her terrier Hiro through The Paddocks housing estate in Donabate on Saturday morning She paused for a moment to look at a footpath by the large green that separates the small street leading into The Paddocks from Somerton The path ends as soon as it reaches the green Nugent said – an informal trail made by feet over time This half-finished walkway doesn’t have a ramped footpath to direct pedestrians across the street Even though a map from developer Aljaco Limited submitted in 2018 as part of a planning application for six more houses There is another footpath on the opposite end of the green But it doesn’t link up to the half-finished path with its “desire line” instead curving off onto the residential street the lack of a real path a major inconvenience for wheelchair users and people pushing prams As she walks around the green and smaller grassy areas scattered throughout the neighbourhood she points to fences that border with nearby estates under construction “Hedgehogs have nowhere to go because a lot of the hedges were taken out.” Fingal County Council is expected to take charge of the estate It can’t do that until Aljaco Limited has built all the infrastructure and applied to the council to take it over “But the estate has been left unfinished.” She has had complaints from estates all around Donabate where residents are frustratedly waiting for the developers to finish so that the council can take over its management “It’s concerning that this is almost becoming widespread.” There needs to be a mechanism in place to deter developers from failing to finish work on a housing estate Aljaco Ltd did not respond when asked why it has yet to carry out the remaining work on its estate and whether there was a timeline for the completion of its paths A spokesperson for Fingal County Council did not respond when asked if it has been engaging with the developer to get these amenities done Developer Aljaco Limited was granted planning permission to build 43 homes at The Paddocks housing estate in August 2016 Among the planning conditions was a request to consider the inclusion of a playground and to clearly indicate which parts of the estate the council would eventually take in charge Aljaco Limited got permission in January 2019 to add four more houses. An Bord Pleanála’s order said that they had to add a children’s play area But Aljaco Limited hasn’t yet followed up with all the amenities As Nugent walked around the neighbourhood on Saturday People started moving into the estate in late 2019 and she has been living here three years and you just get tired of things being left unfinished.” residents showed Social Democrats Councillor Joan Hopkins around the estate They also showed her examples of the unfinishedness of it “Some of the neighbours had started to plant their own ones.” Street lights have been installed too close to driveways and footpaths were missing The residents were having trouble interacting with the developer Aljaco Limited Hopkins has been trying to organise a meeting between residents and the council “We’re waiting for a date for that to happen.” the council is supposed to take the estate in charge But the developer has to ask once it has finished all of the planned work on an estate “The council has to wait until the developer contacts them submits a request for the development to be taken in charge.” there are outstanding issues around landscaping and footpaths Johnston says she has been inundated with similar complaints from around the Donabate area where developers haven’t completed estates or applied for the estates to be taken in charge The only alternative is for residents to hold a plebiscite the council are limited in what they can do to help if a developer hasn’t asked the council to assume charge of existing estates that should be taken into consideration for any future planning applications says the council isn’t tough enough on developers Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan had tried to put an amendment into the Planning Bill which would impose a time limit on when a developer has to hand an estate over to the council so we’re left in this situation,” Hopkins says The council should be prepared for cases either where the developer cannot or will not carry out the necessary works “They should use the bond that they’ve collected from the developer to finish the works themselves and take it over,” she says “They just seem to be very much housing at all costs Fingal County Council has granted planning permission for the second phase of a big housing development on council lands on the eastern fringes of Donabate The Ballymastone project – the result of a deal between the council and the developer Glenveagh Living Limited – is for 1,200 homes built in three phases Phase one, already underway, is for 432 homes. Phase two is for 364 houses and apartments Council planners gave the nod to Glenveagh Living for phase two on 28 August But local campaigners and councillors say they remain worried that much-needed community infrastructure isn’t being built in tandem Glenveagh Living submitted a community and social infrastructure as part of its application done to identify whether facilities like a GP or community centre should be built alongside the new homes including the claim that Donabate has a swimming pool (which it doesn’t) a local group campaigning for a new performance and arts community centre in Donabate It is disappointing but not surprising that the council has given Glenveagh the go-ahead for phase two anyway without calling for more community facilities Fingal County Council did not respond to queries about the decision and the audit Glenveagh Living applied for permission for the second phase of the Ballymastone project on 30 April Because the proposal was for more than 50 homes the developer had to carry out a social and community infrastructure audit in line with Fingal County Council’s development plan Glenveagh’s report – done by the consultants Brady Shipman and Martin –  examined community religious and recreational facilities in the area The Donabate-Portrane area already has enough community cultural and social facilities or has enough in the pipeline That appraisal didn’t sit well with locals They were only supposed to look at facilities within a 1km radius of the site “they looked at a parameter of five kilometres.” This included banks across the Malahide estuary which were within a 4km radius of Donabate Fingal’s Planning Officer noted in their report on the application the complaints that the consultants had looked further than 1km and that the consultants had justified it because Donabate is on a coast says that wasn’t in line with the development plan “Already I’m questioning what is the purpose of a development plan if we have an objective and the council is saying okay it’s one kilometre but we’re going to allow that?” Among the consultants’ observations was that Donabate was well serviced by a swimming pool in its community centre, which does not exist Neither Brady Shipman Martin nor Glenveagh responded to queries about the audit Eleven submissions were made by third parties in response to Glenveagh’s application for phase two including observations by three local councillors and the Donabate-Portrane Community Council Of these submissions, all but one directly referenced the erroneous audit. Fianna Fáil Councillor Adrian Henchy wrote that an independent audit was needed Fingal’s Planning Officer report noted the discrepancies but made no recommendation to carry out a new audit “It didn’t make one iota of a difference,” said Hogan As well as its social and community facilities audit, Glenveagh submitted a school-demands audit to the council. This looked at the provision of primary schools within a 2km radius Fingal’s Planning Officer said in their report The audit found that phase 2 would generate a demand for around 112 primary school spaces and 73 secondary school places the audit found that there are four primary schools within a kilometre of the site there was only one within the 1km radius – Donabate Community College But the audit also included secondary schools 10km away by road in Rush It said that the existing schools within the catchment area have the capacity for the extra students, the report says. She has been contacted by many families in recent years struggling to secure spaces in primary schools “I’m dealing with people who’ve moved into Donabate The council needs to make sure the existing plans for future or expanded schools are sped up moving and expanding the local Gaelscoil na Mara As of the 2022/23 year, the gaelscoil had 53 pupils, says the school-needs audit for Ballymastone The school doesn’t go beyond third class, Johnston wrote in her submission But the plan is for it to get a permanent home in a neighbouring development being built in Corballis East In Corballis East, Aledo Donabate has planning permission for 1,020 new homes and three childcare facilities Fianna Fáil Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed, back in January 2023 that the Department of Education had agreed to acquire this site in her submission on the Glenveagh Living application requested that the council engage with the department so that that transfer of lands is completed She has been attempting to apply pressure on the council to speed this up and ensure there isn’t a shortage of spaces To meet the demand for school places the council keep pointing to their eventual creation of an educational campus to the east of the Ballymastone lands, which is intended to include another three schools Fingal County Council is also planning a recreational hub beside the education hub all-weather pitch and a combined skate park and playground locals in Donabate need facilities for children who are less sporty Donabate’s local area plan included among its objectives the provision of a multifunctional cultural centre in an unspecified location in Donabate or Portrane But there are no immediate plans to build that The council has offered the existing community centre, where space is expected to free up once the library moves to a former credit union nearby The grand Victorian hall at St Ita’s used to host show bands Eoghan Dockrell had a few fragmented memories of wandering through St Ita’s Hospital in Portrane in the late 1990s and early 2000s would arrive at the front entrance to the red-brick Victorian mental hospital for soccer training wide corridors where there used to be patients.” But, while the 175 acres of the St Ita’s campus offer many grassy areas to boot a ball around on Dockrell and his teammates weren’t there for outdoor training who was born and raised on Portrane Avenue and who worked on staff in the hospital for 44 years “I remember you wouldn’t be able to get into it around Christmas,” he says “It’d be packed to the rafters for the Christmas night dance.” and it was used as a dining hall for six of the wards.” says former Fianna Fáil Councillor Adrian Henchy Its potential had sprung back into Councillor Dockrell’s mind during a lot of the local discussions around the need for a community space for the performing arts in the Portrane-Donabate area “Isn’t it mad that St Ita’s had this theatre “It’s disappointing we have this great amenity that has gone to ruin.” says it has been renovating and repurposing vacant parts of the vast hospital in the last number of years But they did not directly respond to queries specifically about the hall A spokesperson for Fingal County Council was unable to say if they had looked into repurposing the hall But the HSE said on Tuesday that the council is tendering for a consultant to prepare a strategy The auditorium in question is actually the hospital’s dining hall, says a December 2013 architectural report commissioned by Fingal County Council That study listed it as of considerable architectural merit in the hospital Photographs in the study show a stage with a proscenium arch within a double height room which has curved-barrel vaulted ceilings says former councillor and mayor Adrian Henchy a proper lighting set-up and hosted a lot of productions the hospital screened films there every Tuesday night too The dining hall wasn’t the only space with a stage on the grounds of the hospital There was a smaller theatre on the edge of the campus too “That was in what used to be the farmyards.” The Little Theater was one of several farmhouses in the yard down a winding road just inside the main entrance via Portrane Avenue The Little Theatre is at the opposite end of the farmyard to its entrance There is a hole in its roof above the wooden stage Weeds grow through holes in boarded-up windows Ivy crawls in through a doorless frame at the very back of the room Bart Simpson contemplates Earth while smoking cannabis Two tags form an accidental rhyming couplet: “Dulce et decorum est,” says one While the dining hall’s heyday was up by the 1980s the Little Theatre remained in use until a lot more recently Local performing arts groups in the Donabate-Portrane area have been looking for a cultural community space for years A local campaign run by the grassroots organisation DP Crossroads drew up a petition calling on the CEO of Fingal County Council arts and youth community facility in the coastal area That petition was submitted to the council on 14 October DP Crossroads chair Ann Hogan said in an email Councillors, back in January recommended that lands in Ballymastone-Corballis But they were told by a senior council official that sports pitches were due to be added to the site while the relocation of Donabate’s library to a disused credit union building would free up space within the existing leisure and community centre A spokesperson for the council couldn’t say whether the council has looked into acquiring or repurposing either theatres within St Ita’s At the Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords area committee meeting on 10 October Councillor Dockrell asked the council’s chief executive for an update on any planned acquisition or leasing of parts of the hospital grounds a senior planner in Fingal’s Planning and Strategic Infrastructure Division But, she said, the council’s development plan promotes the use and reuse of all St Ita’s protected structures, and it would look to update a 2013 feasibility study, conducted with the HSE and which would consider how best to achieve any reuses A spokesperson for the HSE said on Tuesday that they’re working with the council and the Department of Housing on the repurposing of surplus elements of the hospital The council is currently tendering for a consultant to prepare a strategy for the redevelopment of the campus with the appointment expected by the end of 2024 “The preparation of the strategy will commence in early 2025.” the HSE is working with the council to re-develop the campus’s cliff walk as a greenway with a nature reserve with those lands expected to be transferred to the council by the year’s end CORRECTION: This article was updated at 12.34pm on 3 November 2024 to reflect that Adrian Henchy was a Fianna Fáil councillor Frank is survived by his steadfast son Declan (Julianne) and beloved granddaughter Alexandra (Ali) He is predeceased by his late wives Philomena and Marie and his son Garret; brothers John Frank began his career with Coillte (Department of Forestry) as a House Master and Lecturer at Shelton Abbey He went on to serve in those posts at Avondale House and Forest Park and the impact of his 20-year stewardship of Avondale is still vibrant and visible to those who visit today Frank was a dedicated volunteer with Meals on Wheels for many years he was known to distribute the fruits of his garden to neighbours and friends As Frank bequeathed his remains to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, a Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Friday 22 November 2024 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Donabate village. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Samaritans at Samaritans.org/Ireland/Donate-Ireland/ Planned works by Irish Water are causing disruption to supply in north county Dublin Residents in Donabate and surrounding areas of north county Dublin are dealing with water outages today Works scheduled to take place until 4pm today are expected to cause supply disruptions to areas including Beaverstown New connection works may also cause supply disruptions to Portrane Road I spoke to engineers who are onsite investigating this matter,” councillor Corina Johnston a Labour Party councillor in the Dublin Fingal “Residents in The Links and Carrs Mill estates Donabate are having issues with water supply such as low pressure and tanks not refilling following yesterday’s planned outage on the Portrane Road “I reported this matter to Uisce Eireann last night I have been in contact with Uisce Eireann again this morning requesting that this matter be prioritised investigated and water restored as soon as possible “Uisce Eireann has confirmed their field engineers will investigate this matter as a priority.” A spokesperson for Uisce Eireann said: “We recommend that you allow three to four hours after the estimated restoration time for your supply to fully return “Please take note of the following reference number and enter it into the search bar should you wish to return for an update: FIN00087407.” The Irish Independent has contacted Uisce Eireann for further comment The housing development is proposed at a site of 4.72 hectares at New Road The site is generally bound by: a site which is currently being developed to the north; Lanestown View residential development to the east; New Road and existing residential dwellings fronting same to the south; and Saint Patrick’s Park residential development to the west The site includes: part of New Road for road junction footpath and water service connection works; and part of the site to the north for water service connection works The plans and particulars of the proposed development can also be inspected online at https://consult.fingal.ie/browse Like the indoor swimming pool at the community centre The woman at the reception in Donabate Community Centre paused when she was asked if there was a swimming pool in the building A recent audit of community and social infrastructure submitted as part of a recent planning application for developer Glenveagh Living Limited Planning applications to develop more than 50 homes have to include these kinds of audits, according to Fingal County Council’s development plan and what might be needed as neighbourhoods grow The audit for phase two of the big project at Ballymastone a townland on the eastern outskirts of Donabate concludes that it does not need to make space for new facilities There’s a range of social and community infrastructure in the Donabate-Portrane area said it’s not just the mythical swimming pool that undermines the report It oversells Donabate’s facilities by extending its scope beyond the 1km radius that it is supposed to look at the onus would be on them to actually provide this infrastructure.” Fingal County Council and Glenveagh Living Ltd said they couldn’t comment on the audit as it is part of a live planning process Glenveagh Living are set to deliver around 1,200 homes at Ballymastone, on 28ha of what has been council-owned land The deal was voted on by Fingal County Councillors in May 2021 The council’s vision, said a report at the time from senior executive officer Aoife Sheridan was for an “exemplar sustainable housing development in tandem with the provision of community The homes would be split – 20 percent would be social, 20 percent would be “affordable purchase” and 60 percent would be private-market homes, the report said (It also said that the “affordable” homes had guaranteed prices of €250,000 for a two-bed house and at €270,000.00 for a three-bed house. But those have been revised, with recent adverts showing the early ones for €299,000 to €345,000.) One of the largest developments in the country, the first phase is 432 homes, alongside a creche, open play area, two small parks and two pocket parks, according to planning documents Construction on phase one started last August, said a council press release On 30 April 2024, Glenveagh put in a planning application for phase two a group pushing for a new community and performance arts centre in Donabate but do it as phased development in tandem with community infrastructure,” she said The community and social infrastructure report is supposed to work out whether the area has enough community facilities The Ballymastone audit looked at: community Its conclusion is that the Donabate-Portrane area “We submit that there are established and yet to be delivered community facilities which will meet the demand created by the future residents of the proposed development,” it says But that has stoked confusion among locals because it doesn’t seem to match up with what is actually in Donabate “I thought somebody had written it in the dark because there were a lot of factual errors.” The chief error is the claim that Donabate’s community centre has an indoor swimming pool There isn’t even a municipal swimming pool in Fingal The report also says that Donabate has three GP practices: the Donabate Family Medical Centre Donabate Clinic and the HSE-run Donabate Health Centre Donabate Health Centre doesn’t have a GP practice because people will have to leave the peninsula to access GP services.” the Donabate Family Medical Centre and the Donabate Health Centre did not respond to queries about the current level of access to GP services in Donabate And, in its audit of community facilities, the nearest financial service that the consultants identify is the local post office, Hogan says. “But the ATM was recently removed.” In line with the council’s development plan, the audit should assess infrastructure within 1km area of the site “The concern with this report is that they also looked at a 5km catchment area.” Permanent TSB and AIB – are all across the estuary in Malahide Those banks are roughly within a 4km radius of Donabate The audit mentions that Donabate is a coastal community so Glenveagh Living Ltd and the consulting firm Brady Shipman Martin did not respond when asked for more detail on why this radius was widened There wasn’t enough community infrastructure within a kilometre of Ballymastone “They extended it to 5km and included all these additional facilities.” “But you can’t walk to them within 15 minutes,” she says “So you’re pushing them into their cars to access basic services The council is set to deliver on pieces of community infrastructure in Ballymastone that were flagged in the Donabate Local Area Plan (LAP), 2016 to 2020 including an athletics track and a skate park These will be features of a €10 million sports and recreational hub to be developed by the council. It will also boast all-weather pitches, according to a council presentation from July 2021 The LAP also identifies the need for a swimming pool It also highlights the need for a multi-functional indoor community facility says the peninsula has no shortage of sporting facilities “we are pushing very strongly for a dedicated cultural and youth centre because while there is a lot of sporting provision there’s really nothing for other interests or activities” In early January local councillors asked Fingal County Council if such a facility could be delivered on lands within the Ballymastone-Corballis area the council didn’t indicate that this was a likelihood Donabate’s library is currently in the existing community centre. But the council plans to move the library to the old credit union building on the Portrane Road and so free up some space in the community centre that bit of space isn’t going to be sufficient “That’s only giving back the space that we had 10 years ago Donabate and formerly of Drimnagh and The Liberties; peacefully surrounded by her loving family in the kind care of the staff of Beaumont Hospital; wife and life long friend of the late Noel Snr Áine and the late Paul and adored Nanny Panny of Jonathan Maisie and Danny and her bonus grandchildren Sophie Jack and Táidgh and great granddaughters Kadi Ann will be forever loved and very sadly missed by her loving children Reposing at her home on Friday from 4pm to 7pm Donabate followed by Cremation in Dardistown Crematorium To view Ann’s Funeral Mass on Saturday at 10am please see the following link: http://www.donabateparish.ie/webcam To view Ann’s Cremation Service on Saturday at approximately 12 noon please see the following link:https://www.dctrust.ie/location/dardistown/dardistown-chapel-webstreaming.html. Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to The Little Flower, Penny Dinners, please see link: https://www.littleflower.ie/donate/donate Those who cannot attend the Funeral, please feel free to leave a message in the condolence book below. Please Note: The links provided to live-stream the Funeral Mass and Cremation Service are managed by independent streaming companies. The Funeral Home accepts NO responsibility for its functionality or interruption to a live transmission. STORM EOWYN DISRUPTIONThere is widespread disruption to transport services in Dublin today due to Storm \u00C9owyn. Access latest updates here. The future of public transportation for Dublin commuters is set to take a significant leap forward with the approval of the DART+ Coastal North project the Cabinet agreed to advance the DART+ Coastal North project into the planning system This extension of the DART network will stretch the existing electrified rail service by 37 kilometers The project promises to bring high-frequency fully electrified DART trains to a host of growing communities along the route managed by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) and funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority (NTA) aims to significantly enhance rail services The submission of a Railway Order (planning application) to An Bord Pleanála is expected by July 2024 While the full-scale electrification is underway passengers can look forward to an immediate boost in service 65 new battery-electric DART carriages will replace existing diesel services between Dublin and Drogheda This interim measure will increase passenger capacity during peak hours by 83% from approximately 4,800 to 8,800 passengers The DART+ Programme is a comprehensive plan to expand Dublin's rail network from 53km to 150km tripling its reach and doubling passenger capacity to and from the city center This expansion includes extending the DART services not only to the north but also to the west and southwest The Coastal North project entails several significant infrastructural developments: Extension of overhead electric wires from Malahide to Drogheda MacBride station Reconfiguration of tracks and associated infrastructure at key stations Construction of a new platform at Drogheda MacBride Station Reconstruction of bridges and civil works to support electrification Modifications to depots to accommodate new trains You can learn more about the DART+ project on the DART+ Programme website here Dublin journey plannerDublin rail mapDublin bus mapsDublin train stationsDublin bus station (Busáras)Dublin AirportDART times BikesBusesTrainsTrams (Luas) Wheelchair accessibilityDublin Airport busDublin Port busDublin public transport news About this siteTerms and conditionsPrivacy noticeCookies noticeContact us (C) 2024 Metro Nation Ltd All rights reserved The Sunday Times understands that Cairn has done an off-market deal with the Oaktree-backed Cannon Kirk to purchase the land. The move represents a big re-entry into the acquisitions market for the listed company, which has been largely absent from it in recent years. Last year Cairn made acquisitions worth €57.9 million compared with purchases of about €470 million in its first year of operation in 2015. Further site acquisitions could follow this year. In its latest trading update published this month, Cairn said it would build 2,200 homes this year, an increased guidance of 30 per cent on Fingal County Council has prepared a Draft Framework Plan for Donabate, County Dublin. For full details see Draft Donabate Framework Plan | Fingal County Council Online Consultation Portal Submissions will be accepted until February 21 Fingal County Council has prepared a Draft Framework Plan for Donabate For full details see Draft Donabate Framework Plan | Fingal County Council Online Consultation Portal including SEA Statement and Screening Report for Appropriate Assessment will be open to public inspection from Wednesday 24th January 2024 to Wednesday 21st February 2024 (inclusive of both dates) at the following locations during this period: will be taken into consideration by the Council before the making of the Framework Plan A Public Information Drop-In Session will be held on Wednesday 31st January from 4pm – 8pm in the Donabate Portrane Fingal County Council is pleased to announce that it has appointed Roughan and O’Donovan a leading multi-disciplinary consultancy firm planning and environmental services for the Donabate Transport Projects which comprise a number of major projects with the objective of improving transport and active travel infrastructure and road safety on the Donabate-Portrane peninsula The projects are being progressed by the Planning & Strategic Infrastructure Department with support from the National Transport Authority as part of the implementation of the NTA’s Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network and from Transport Infrastructure Ireland.  says 'It is fantastic to see such a broad programme of improvements being invested in across Donabate and Portrane The population of the area has continued to grow significantly in recent years and there is demand for physical and social infrastructure supporting better transport choices This will allow commuters to easily get to Dublin Airport and work in Swords Dublin city and elsewhere while also supporting commerce to continue to thrive in Donabate and Portrane themselves.' Director of Services for Planning and Strategic Infrastructure in Fingal County Council said “I am delighted to see the Donabate Transport Projects move forward These projects will bring significant benefits and together with the construction of new homes and recreational facilities in Donabate will serve the future sustainable development needs of the area” said: “Roughan & O’Donovan has provided planning and design services in Fingal for more than 30 years since our design of overbridges on the Blanchardstown Bypass in the early 1990’s We are delighted to have been appointed to the Framework for Engineering Consultancy Services for Donabate Transport Projects and we look forward to working with the Planning and Strategic Infrastructure team in Fingal County Council to enhance active travel provision and improve road safety on the Donabate Portrane Peninsula” Senior Engineer leading the Transportation Planning Section within the Council’s Planning and Strategic Infrastructure Department said “We’re delighted to be working with Roughan & O’Donovan on these exciting projects The schemes we will be working on will all aim to create a high-quality transportation network including high quality public realm and landscaping it’s important that we design our infrastructure for all abilities and for all ages” Work on the initial data-gathering and concept development stages of the Donabate Transport Projects will commence immediately Further stages of design work will follow on subsequently in the new year Donabate is a small coastal town blessed with a beautiful sandy beach and the invaluable amenity of Newbridge House and Gardens. This Georgian mansion was built in the 18th century for Charles Cobbe, Archbishop of Dublin, and remained in the Cobbe family for two centuries until 1985. It is now a public park, playground and model farm. The park is very popular all year round for recreational activities, and also contains playing pitches used by local sports clubs. Donabate Beach is a notable surfer’s spot, and a great location for walking and canoeing. From the beach there are beautiful views of Lambay Island, Howth Peninsula and Malahide Estuary. It’s easily accessible from the M50 and M1 motorways and has a car park and toilet facilities. We are continuing to develop a coastal walkway from the Dublin City to the County Meath borders along the Fingal coastline. Spending a morning in Swords, visiting the historic Swords Castle and the wonderful Ward River Valley Park, with a visit to the Pavilions Shopping Centre along the way. Easily accessible by rail, both DART and mainline, as well as being served by a good bus schedule, Malahide is a wonderful coastal village in Fingal, which is a popular destination for tourists. Corballis is an 18 hole links golf course maintained to the highest standards. six bathrooms and an area of 525sq m (5,651sq ft) This contemporary offering is on the market through DNG McKenna Healy A secure electric gate opens to reveal the house The hallway soars to a double-height atrium with a sweeping staircase made of dark-stained oak To the left is a guest cloakroom and the first of the home’s six bathrooms and to the right of the entrance hall is an attractive study one of which is an enclosed glass box with extensive built-in shelving and a herringbone washed oak floor and ambient lighting is employed extensively A ground-floor guest bedroom with en suite lies to the back of the entrance hall on the right and on the left is a comprehensive utility and laundry room larger than most kitchens The back of the house faces south and has a kitchen/dining/livingroom that is simply enormous complete with a large island and a breakfast nook The living area has more beautiful custom cabinetry in the same stained oak used throughout the house A dual-aspect stove here adds warmth to the huge spaces and there is a family room on the other side of this wall herringbone parquet flooring and a wood-burning-effect stove under the TV This is a house that keeps on giving when it comes to relaxing zones to chill out in and once the concertina doors of the kitchen are opened back an air-conditioned sunroom lies between the back of the house and the garden this house unsurprisingly has a lot of tech with the latest and most efficient ground-source heat pump and mechanical air-recovery system giving it excellent air quality and an A2 Ber rating An advanced alarm and camera system is accessible from the owners’ devices a wifi-enabled music system runs throughout the house and the lighting is considered and well-designed and three of them give on to a magnificent canopied balcony with glass balustrade [ Extended three-bed a drop kick from the Aviva for €945,000Opens in new window ] The main suite is a showstopper, with recessed ceiling and ambient lighting, a sliding door opening on to the balcony, taupe carpeting, an extravagant bathroom with his-and-her showers behind a huge free-standing bath, and built in cabinetry more usually seen in a livingroom than a bathroom. The bathroom opens into a vast dressingroom with more of the handsome herringbone flooring used downstairs and bespoke cabinetry. It’s a quick stroll into Donabate village from the property, with a train station from where you can commute into Connolly station in less than half an hour. For schools, Donabate has a community college and four national schools including an Educate Together and a Gaelscoil. The nearby beaches have garnered a reputation for surfing and kitesurfing, and with the M1 close by, access to Dublin Airport is a swift 15 minutes. Miriam Mulcahy, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about property Facebook pageTwitter feed© 2025 The Irish Times DAC 13 concluded no more was needed in areas such as Howth It doesn’t take long for Lucia McCullagh to list the community amenities in and around Donabate Newbridge House and Farm and the two beaches at Portrane and Donabate “And Portrane Beach is falling into the sea.” But the 24-7 ATM is gone and the credit union too And many of the closest amenities are a car or a train ride away But McCullagh’s concern is that few public amenities or community facilities are coming with these new estates There is a mechanism that is supposed to address this Developers applying for planning permission to build more than 50 homes at a time in the Fingal County Council area have to submit a social and community infrastructure audit with their application Audits should show gaps in facilities and whether new ones are needed to support new residents They mostly say neighbourhoods are well served That just doesn’t seem to reflect the reality on the ground says Social Democrats Councillor Joan Hopkins and it’s an area that I’ve been working very closely with and with the sports and community groups they do not have adequate infrastructure,” she says It’s the council’s development plan that lays out the need for a community audit for developments with more than 50 homes The audit should look at how well stocked the area is for amenities It should cover what  new residents will need and what is lacking says Social Democrats Councillor Paul Mulville A lot of parents are being pushed out of the area and can’t return to work.” Some developers do flag that in their applications An audit by Declan Brassil and Company said that Aledo Donabate Ltd’s planned construction of 1,020 homes in Corballis East would deliver two childcare services to meet demand That application was approved by the council on 4 April 2024 Right next door, an audit prepared by consultants Thornton O’Connor Town Planning in February 2024 on behalf of developer Marshall Yards Development Company for another site with 98 planned homes It didn’t suggest any new childcare spaces raising questions about how audits should take into account what is planned and what is already built Their report identified that there were eleven Tusla-registered childcare facilities within a radius of 1.7km of the development site None had space for new  enrollments as of January 2024 and some had waiting lists But Thornton O’Connor identified five planning applications for six childcare facilities within a 1km catchment so there was sufficient infrastructure in the vicinity Audits are supposed to assess social infrastructure within 1km of the site of planned homes says the Fingal County Council’s development plan Of 18 audits carried out since 1 January 2023 for planning applications either approved or awaiting a decision An audit prepared by consultants at Brady Shipman for one of Fingal County Council’s own developments – 274 homes in Mooretown Swords – said that the nearest banking and dental services were 1.9km away The closest indoor sporting facility also sat outside the 1km catchment But it didn’t propose any amenities in the scheme Brady Shipman did not respond when asked why it widened the catchment while Fingal County Council did not respond before publication While most consultant reports broadened their radius to 2km, an audit by Brady Shipman for Glenveagh Living Limited looked at both a 1km and 5km catchment area as part of an application for the second phase of the Ballymastone development on the outskirts of Donabate The Ballymastone site is 1.2km east of the town’s station and 1.3km away from Main Street and the consultant said due to its location the 5km catchment area was also selected to capture facilities in the wider area Hopkins, the Social Democrats councillor, said she was surprised to learn that an audit submitted by developer GLL PRS Holdco Limited as part of its proposal for 135 flats in Deer Park in Howth said that the area “is well serviced by existing services and facilities” Howth is well-serviced by people within the community “They have a fabulous network and they’re well organised with groups that can be joined that cost little or no money.” prepared by McCutcheon Halley Chartered Planning Consultants and a library sit within 1.1km of the site McCutcheon Halley declined to comment on why it extended the radius and Columbanas Hall is not wheelchair accessible They’d need to level some ground to make it accessible.” Howth needs a theatre space and a more suitable cultural or community space When an audit overstates the adequacy of community facilities the concern is that it may be reaching for an answer that somebody already wants to justify building more homes without infrastructure “There’s no profit to be made from community infrastructure,” she says A planning application for a housing development of 1,323 residential units crèches and links to the Broadmeadow Greenway has been given the green light to commence construction The decision follows a settlement agreement reached by a property company Aledo Donabate Ltd and the area’s residents Following a public meeting hosted by Donabate Portrane Community Council (DPCC) the 344 residents who attended the meeting voted overwhelmingly in favour of the housing project going ahead in the coming months The Donabate Portrane Community Council hosted a public meeting on Wednesday The community group called the meeting to discuss the Corballis East SHD/LRD development and the judicial review brought by the group Independent peace commissioner Alan Boyce moderated the evening The project can now commence following a binding agreement and the judicial review being struck out following agreement by the two parties The first phase will consist of circa 600 new homes local shops and a site for a new 24-classroom primary school The project’s centrepiece is a nature park that remains at 13 hectares The nature park will provide a natural amenity for local residents who will be able to observe wildlife throughout the year in particular winter feeding birds that will be encouraged to feed here the area will be maintained as a world-class natural habitat to stimulate education and encourage recreation without disturbing the natural habitat A cycle and pedestrian link to the approved Broadmeadow Greenway will be developed which will connect the proposed development to Donabate Train Station and Newbridge Demesne via a new footbridge crossing over the Dublin/Belfast railway line Part of the site has already been granted permission to build 54 units and some retail to the rear of Smyths Bridge Public House Aledo Donabate Ltd has committed to provide community support of €10,000 per annum for the next 10 years with the community also benefiting from a dedicated community building in the first phase Donabate is defined as a strategic development area under the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) For magazine editorial, website or eNewsletter queries, email Robbie Cousins robbie@foundationmedia.ie For sales or a ratecard email Joe Connolly joe@foundationmedia.ie Privacy Policy The Donabate Distributor Road officially opened on Friday 6th March 2020 It is Fingal County Council’s first project constructed under the Rebuilding Ireland’s Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) to be completed The Donabate Distributor road runs an easterly direction from the R126 Hearse Road on the south-west of Donabate village before heading in a northerly direction to reconnect with the R126 on the Portrane road.  The project involved the construction of 4km of new high-quality road that will service significant amounts of new residential development around Donabate and provide a second bridge crossing over the mainline Dublin-Belfast railway line As well as alleviating traffic at Donabate village it will provide an alternative access to Portrane and the eastern parts of Donabate It will also improve access to the strategically important National Forensic Mental Hospital on Portrane when this national facility becomes operational Footpaths and off-road cycle facilities are included along the length of the road There are also plans for the development of commercial and recreational facilities including the Donabate Education and Recreational Hub the Broadmeadow Greenway and the Corballis Nature Park #Donabate #Portrane #Fingal #Ireland #Broadmeadow #Greenway #Corballis #nature #lihaf #roads #rebuildingireland Fingal County Council has been successful in securing €40,000 for streetscape enhancement projects in Donabate through the Department of Rural and Community Development’s Town and Village Renewal Scheme the five year strategy to revitalise rural Ireland and make our rural towns and villages more vibrant and attractive places to live The funding will support the upgrade of commercial premises in Donabate through shopfront improvements Welcoming the announcement of the new funding, the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Howard Mahony, said “ I welcome the announcement of the new funding for this streetscape enhancement scheme in Donabate The funding is a welcome boost for the community and will assist in enhancing the Town Centre.” Chief Executive of Fingal County Council said “Fingal County Council plays a leading role in rural development through community and business supports and infrastructure development This new Streetscape enhancement scheme for Donabate is a welcome additional source of such support and will help the local community to enhance the attractiveness and vibrancy of the town.” Expressions of interest must be received by Fingal County Council on or before 12:00 noon on Friday the 30th June 2023 A new library is part of a trio of services local representatives say Donabate needs Although it is after 4pm on a Saturday afternoon the clock outside Ballisk House tells passers-by on the Portrane Road in Donabate that it is nine minutes to two the two-storey yellow building served as the coastal town’s credit union the sign advertising that above the entrance has been removed leaving exposed the lights that illuminated it at night The Progressive Credit Union had bought the building from Fingal County Council in 1995 it sold it back to the council in March 2022 after more than a year of discussion about how the space should be used a spokesperson for Fingal County Council says its architects are finalising plans to modify the property into a fully functioning library “We are preparing a brief for the appointment of a contractor for the project which it is proposed to happen later this year,” they said The library is part of a trio of services that local representatives say Donabate needs “We need these facilities and we needed them yesterday,” said Corina Johnston a local area representative for the Labour Party Donabate’s public library is in the town’s community centre which is a 300-metre walk down the Portrane Road Moving the library to Ballisk House would lift an enormous amount of pressure off the centre the centre will have much more space for community recreational and sporting activities,” he said According to a spokesperson for the council It is also set to have an events and meeting room reading and study desks and self-service kiosks Mulville said that while the news is welcome his main concern now is that the timeline for the refurbishment is less clear than it was Now the council is saying the contractors’ brief would be prepared later this year it said that the brief would be done in September and I’ll be seeking clarity on that when the council resumes.” says the new library is likely two years away but it is two years now since the credit union has closed and the building is beginning to look a bit run down,” she said Mulville says the library is the first of three civic pillars that the area seriously needs are a Garda station and a primary care centre He points to the 2006 local area plan for Donabate which says consultations were then ongoing between the council and the then Department of Education and Science on the provision of “a campus of educational and recreational facilities” adjacent to council-owned lands in Ballisk “There was the need for it because the town was rapidly expanding,” he says The plan also said that while there is an existing small health care facility in the town’s centre a HSE primary health care facility was needed says she is being contacted by a lot of locals whose elderly parents are looking for healthcare services “A number of people’s parents are being diagnosed with dementia and there are no support services in Donabate,” she says “You have to leave the peninsula to avail of them.” A spokesperson for the HSE said it continues to explore options for the delivery of a primary care centre in the Donabate-Portrane area They have advertised for this but unsuccessfully “The advertisement sought expressions of interest from the private sector for the provision of primary care centres through the HSE operational lease mechanism.” primary care services are being delivered to both coastal towns through the Swords Community Healthcare Network The 2006 local area plan also listed a Garda station would improve local security as the closest station is in Swords “It’s a huge area and the station is not up to standard.” The trouble is, Johnston says, these pieces of infrastructure were excluded from the Donabate Local Area Plan 2016 – 2022 “The council allowed the plan to be ratified with the removal of all these key infrastructural things that we need An Garda Síochána did not respond to queries rain stopped and started over Donabate as the local coffee shops began to close up A young girl raced down the Portrane Road’s footpath on roller skates with its front gates closed and unruly grass Teenagers hung out in the Donabate Town Centre Donabate is a town with a young population “We’re looking at a situation where 41 percent are under 30.” There is a development with 432 homes due to begin construction nearby in Ballymastone The infrastructure listed in the area plan 17 years ago is urgently needed as the town continues to grow “We’re going to see a massive population increase in the next 10 years.” “We’re at a point now in time where a lot of the lands are zoned for housing but we need facilities like this provided in tandem with homes.” Gemma Roche was outside Pipers Take Away in Portrane one day in October when she spotted a poster in the window of the cottage and a local campaign for a new cultural and civic centre in Donabate walking against a chilly wind down the Portrane Road and there’s not a lot to do here if you don’t do either of those things,” she said She would love it if there was another kind of space “Where people can go that’s not reliant on drinking,” she says She has taken dance classes in the Donabate Portrane Community and Leisure Centre “But there isn’t anything like a theatrical space says that there are currently two venues in use in the town – the community centre and the parish hall “You have to book it really far in advance and there’s no stage facilities or permanent exhibitions.” Roche and others are looking for is a multifunctional space one that could accommodate youth services and a theatre with room for between 200 and 300 people but we need facilities like this provided in tandem with homes,” says Johnston Fingal County Council did not respond to a query about whether it would support the idea of creating a new cultural and civic centre in the Donabate area “We’d have approximately 30 cultural groups and they don’t have a permanent home trad sessions and the annual Bleeding Pig Cultural Festival “There is a strong cultural tradition on the peninsula.” But Smith says the existing community centre doesn’t have the capacity to host all these The Donabate Local Area Plan – which ran from 2016 to 2020 – included an objective that the council support the provision of a community Johnston and Smith called the public meeting last October to discuss the idea a committee then set up to push for the centre Locals have grown more aware in recent years that there isn’t enough space for cultural events “The community centre has run out of space.” The existing community centre was built in 2001 “It’s the newest public building in the village.” Census data from 2022 puts the Donabate-Portrane population just below 12,000 It’s a young population and there are no youth facilities here.” It isn’t that the peninsula is deprived of all facilities there is no shortage of playing pitches of clubs “My kids are very involved in GAA and tennis The existing cultural and arts groups are fragmented It’s hard to get a handle on what is available.” There is a scarcity of music and dance teachers too “People are going to Balbriggan for ballet classes.” the need for a cultural and civic centre was raised at the council’s Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords area committee by Labour Councillor Robert O’Donoghue Social Democrats Councillor Paul Mulville and Fianna Fáil Councillor Adrian Henchy Their motion proposed that the committee recommend that a council site within the Ballymastone-Corballis area be designated for the facility In a written report responding to the motion pointed to projects already underway around there Work had already started on a big development of 28 hectares at Ballymastone of which 20 percent would be for sale through the government’s affordable-housing scheme (The price tags aren’t yet public though.) Her response highlights the sporting pitches that would be added alongside these Also, the town’s library is to be moved from the community and leisure centre to the former credit union, Ballisk House “This will release valuable space within the community centre for community use.” The freed-up space in the existing centre can be repurposed to meet the community’s needs including that of a cultural space for performances and exhibitions who sits on the existing community centre’s board as the building was currently at full capacity “We’re not in a position to facilitate new groups welcomed the update on the old credit union he cast doubt on whether the community centre could work for a performance According to the local area plan Donabate has the capacity to add around 4,000 new homes which if delivered over the next decade with no additional facilities would be a disaster The cultural and civic centre could help prevent that “This proposal goes some way to meeting the requirements of an expanding population.” A public-private partnership would be the best way to deliver this community space the council can’t just focus on building houses “It’s about building communities and we need to future plan.” Donabate’s sporting clubs are doing quite well culture and heritage in line with that as well.” said there will be extra community space provided in Ballisk House “That should alleviate some of the difficulties.” Social Democrats Councillor Paul Mulville said one of the sites that the campaign group is looking at for the potential new cultural facility is off the New Road This land is just outside the town centre, close to the Ballymastone site, he says. “It’s got planning permission for homes that were never built. The council bought it and we’re proposing now to put that on this site as well as the affordable homes.” Most of the council-owned lands off New Road are zoned for residential development councillor Henchy told the area committee on 4 January “we do now have from the existing new [Fingal Development Plan 2023 to 2029] we did rezone a parcel of land there for community infrastructure” While the New Road lands have been flagged as a possible place for the proposed new centre says the committee is also looking at a number of sites “We’re trying not to be prescriptive at this stage.” “If it becomes about one particular site before we get the council’s buy-in “But we would like it to be central to the existing village.” They are currently looking at public lands the group is open to a kind of public-private partnership if they can launch the project Gemma Roche – sitting across the street from the single-storey parish hall – says the committee is interviewing different groups to figure out what they need Roche hopes the Crossroads committee can help to establish a new space for socialising on the peninsula This pilot project will trial more environmentally friendly beach management practices on Donabate beach coupled with a community engagement campaign from Clean Coasts.  The project is made up of two elements 'Restore' & 'Protect' 'Restore' means stopping the use of mechanical cleaning methods Fingal County Council uses a mechanical rake attached to a digger to clean the beach surface of all debris This rake removes litter but in the process also removes 'beach wrack' This summer we will deploy additional litter picking resources instead to leave the naturally occurring beach wrack in place 'Protect' refers to the effect that leaving beach wrack in place has on the natural environment Beach wrack is the scientific term for seaweed driftwood and seagrass that washes up on our shores ‘Beach wrack is the foundation of the beach food web providing a foods source for birds and supporting invertebrate life making it critical to coastal biodiversity It also protects beaches by anchoring sand that would otherwise be taken away with the wind This creates dunes that can act as structural support for the beach.' Without the regular use of the mechanical rake the beach may look a bit different in the coming weeks You will notice seaweed and other natural debris gathering on the sand This is safe and great for the environment Our litter pickers will remove litter found along the beach and we're appealing to the public to remove any litter you see taking particular care to remove everything you brought with you when leaving the beach Visitors to our beaches should leave no trace of their visit by taking their rubbish with them and disposing of it in your recycling bins at home or using public bins provided at the beach If you've got 2 minutes to spare you can also make a real impact on your local environment by picking up any litter you can find and taking it with you when you leave Clean Coasts is running a series of Beach Clean events at Donabate beach this summer Everyone is welcome to attend - why not make it part of a family day out Clean Coasts Enjoy and Protect initiative is aimed at enhancing our beaches for responsible use and allowing wildlife to thrive Interested in finding out more about this pilot scheme? Check out this video recording of Clean Coasts May 2021 Townhall Meeting where the team share further details and answer questions from the public For further resources visit www.cleancoasts.org Ancient underground chamber found in Donabate Ken PhelanFingal IndependentWed 20 Jul 2022 at 09:00A potentially significant archaeological find dating back centuries has been discovered in Corballis The discovery happened last week when the farmer unearthed a large rock which covered what appeared to be a souterrain tunnell One section of the tunnel was covered with ancient text an ancient writing dating back to what local historian Peadar Bates believes to be at least from the 12th century with recorded use of the script dating back even as far as the 4th century Corina Johnston was at the scene following the discovery: “It was discovered last week by a farmer sowing crops He contacted then a number of local residents who came down and had a look at the site and one of them actually got into what appears to be a souterrain tunnel "There was a big rock over it and the farmer hit the rock and pulled it off when he was using the machinery and unearthed this opening one of them went into the tunnel and took a video and loads of photographs and alerted the National Monument Service and Fingal County Council.” Having had no response from the National Monuments Service who along with Labour TD Duncan Smith contacted the National Monuments Service the next day The Archaeological Society of Ireland has since been to visit the site and it now looks like an entry is to be added to the sites and monuments record in due course The site itself rests on Corballis lands in Donabate An application for a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) for 1365 units has gone to An Bord Pleanála this is “quite a controversial planning application” as there are contraventions of the Local Area Plan (LAP) and the Fingal Development Plan Ms Johnston has written to the Bord to notify them that a potentially significant find has been discovered on the land gave his opinion: “I’m not an archaeologist Joe Thompson was on to some expert in archaeology and he feels that it’s a souterrain but it could be complicated by the fact of what appears to be ogham script writing which were found in the tunnel.” Peadar says if it did in fact turn out to be ogham script it would date the souterrain “certainly before 1100 AD” Peadar says: “I know an expert has looked at the photographs and feels it is ogham script “We’re hoping it will be preserved and hopefully it’ll be there for future generations to look at I’ve a feeling that this is a very important find.” Ms Johnston concluded: “It’s hugely significant and it’s very exciting actually it’s amazing that it’s so intact and that it hasn’t actually been stumbled upon before given that land is agricultural and has been farmed for so many years.” Fingal County Council is pleased to announce that a letter of acceptance has just been received from the Commission for Railway Regulation approving the construction of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Dublin to Belfast Railway line at Corballis, Donabate. Fingal County Council is pleased to announce that a letter of acceptance has just been received from the Commission for Railway Regulation approving the construction of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Dublin to Belfast Railway line at Corballis, Donabate. The new bridge will cross over the railway line, facilitating a safe and segregated walking and cycle route and enhance the connection to local facilities and services including the train station and Newbridge Demesne. An invitation to tender will issue to shortlisted works contractors in August with a contractor appointed later in the Autumn. Two developers looking to advance large-scale residential development (LRD) schemes in north Dublin have experienced contrasting fortunes Fingal County Council granted planning permission to Aledo Donabate Ltd to construct 1,020 homes at Corballis East, Donabate. However, in a separate decision, it refused to Dean Swift Property Holdings UC to construct 564 dwellings at lands off Flemington Lane, Balbriggan. The Donabate scheme is located just behind Smyths House pub and includes a 32-acre nature park. It consists of 529 houses, 356 duplex/triplex units, 84 apartments and 51 sheltered units. In addition, the proposed development will provide two childcare facilities with capacity for 237 children; three retail units; two cafe units and a medical centre. The proposed development facilitates the future development of a primary school site on adjoining lands, within the applicant’s ownership. Planning documentation lodged with the scheme states that the proposed LRD application “is being progressed to expedite the development of this zoned and serviced site”. The site has permission for a strategic housing development (SHD) for 1,323 dwellings and LRD planning documentation states that the SHD decision is the subject of a judicial review. As part of the proposal, Aledo Donabate intends to sell 102 dwellings for an indicative €39.88 million to Fingal council for social and affordable housing under Part V requirements. The Dean Swift Property Holdings UC proposal was made up of 378 houses, 84 duplex units and 102 apartments across 10 apartment blocks. The scheme faced “a significant number” of third-party objections and the council has now refused planning permission for the scheme on three grounds. The council ruled that the scheme, in its failure to provide for high-quality open spaces, would result in a substandard residential development providing a poor-quality environment for future residents. The planning authority also ruled that the scheme would be deficient in the timely delivery of necessary and supporting infrastructure and would fail to contribute to the achievement of enhanced connectivity and sustainable travel opportunities to serve northwest Balbriggan. The council also concluded that it cannot conclude beyond reasonable doubt that the development would not impact Natura 2000 sites in the vicinity and therefore the council is precluded from granting planning permission. Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times Dublin pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice(CCJ) on Parkgate Street in Dublin after he appeared before the District Court Jamie SmithSat 11 May 2024 at 12:57A PERSONAL trainer charged over a seizure of just over €3.9m worth of cannabis in Dublin has been sent forward for trial was arrested on May 26 last year at Junction five of the M1 southbound but denied knowing what was in the vehicle Mr Smith is charged with possessing cannabis resin for sale or supply and he appeared again yesterday at Dublin District Court The Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment and gardai served him with a book of evidence Judge Treasa Kelly granted a return for trial order sending him forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court where the case will be listed for mention on June 6 Detective Garda Liam Aherne told a bail hearing earlier that the accused "made no reply" to the charges The detective cited the seriousness of the case and said the GNDOCB had carried out an operation in north Dublin They stopped the rental van allegedly driven by Mr Smith Gardai found 11 cardboard boxes and two sacks containing 187 kg of cannabis herb and 30 kg of cannabis resin The bail hearing was told that under interview the accused maintained he did not know the contents of the boxes or packages and that he was "simply driving the van" The self-employed personal trainer did not address the court and agreed to obey several conditions His bond stated that he had to surrender his identity card and not apply for a passport and reside at an address at Chieftain's Way One of Seafield's great claims is that it is believed to have been built nearly 300 years ago by the classical architect Sir Edward Lovett Pearce. A champion of the Palladian style, his finest buildings in Ireland include Castletown House and the Irish Houses of Parliament (today the Bank of Ireland) on College Green. Lovett Pearce died in 1733 and the original Seafield House dating from 1730 certainly bears many of the hallmarks of his elegant symmetrical designs. About a 100 years later a west wing was added to include an Italianate tower (more of a cosmetic than practical enhancement)and a coach and stable yard complete with clock tower. The original owner of the property was Bendict Arthure, the high sheriff of Dublin. It was then for many years in the hands of the Hely-Hutchinson family, prominent figures in Irish political history. Its latter day owners were the renowned property and art collectors Sir Robert and Lady Sheelagh Goff who lived at Seafield House for many years before moving to the Ballincor estate on 4,000 acres in the Wicklow Mountains. In 1996 they sold the house to the current owners for just under IR£1 million. Liam and Kaye Cronin, originally from Cork, had lived in London for many years where Liam had built a substantial clothes import business, but in the late 1990s they decided to plan a return to Ireland and Seafield House was identified Liam says Kaye couldn’t understand why more people weren’t interested in buying Seafield at the time; he adds that it may have had something to do with the substantial additional investment required in the property. Its refurbishment, retaining original features, took more than a year, and an estimated IR£3million to complete. It involved a complete rewiring, replumbing, reroofing and upgrade of windows and bathrooms, and even the addition of a new flight of granite steps sweeping up to the front door. Some 21 years on, and the Cronins are ready now for retirement proper. and are moving on to (nearby) pastures new. They are selling Seafield House with 895sq m/9,634sq ft on 80 acres with gardens, coach and stable yard through Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes for €9.95million. During their tenure the Cronins took great care to preserve the history of the house which centres around a dramatic double-height entrance hall, which, typical of the design style of the time, runs the depth of the building and is unimpeded by the staircase tucked away off the hall. The result is a bright, naturally-lit space dominated by a series of meticulously restored full-length wall paintings of various figures from Greek mythology. From the school of Dutch artist William van der Hagen, these unique monochrome Grisele drawings are some of the earliest examples of their kind in Ireland. Overlooking the grand hall is an open gallery linking the principle bedrooms on the upper floor. Kaye spent three years decorating the house to a rich and sumptuous palette of colours and textures. A striking bespoke carpet runs throughout the property from the main hall and gives a luxurious flow to the house. The graphic emblem at its heart mirrors the fanlight design over the front door. Elsewhere, and in particular in the three fine reception rooms off the main hall, great care has been taken to retain the qualities of the original design, in particular in the panelling and plasterwork. An Adam fireplace sits in the dining room, and across the way in the drawing room is a fine marble fireplace rescued from a castle at Lough Lomond in Scotland. The beauty of these classic Georgian dwellings is their restraint, which means the reception rooms are very liveable thanks to modest proportions symmetrically built around fireplaces and the tall recessed windows with woodland and estuary views. Beyond the formal accommodation, the house relaxes into a more homely ambience, leading downwards to a bright country kitchen in the Victorian wing and alongside it a cosy club-style sitting room where the family spend much of their time. The lower ground floor is encouragingly dry - not always the case - and new owners have a blank slate here to reconfigured it as additional accommodation, games rooms or a gym. Upstairs, and arranged over two floors there are eight bedrooms, the four on the first floor are laid out in suites - a little dated now, these are likely to get a cosmetic refresh, though the bone structure is there. Up again is a series of double rooms arranged around a central space ideal for visiting children and grandchildren - a place where they can escape to and play. Outside, nearly 600 trees have been planted in 15 acres of woodland. “I made sure they were at least 20 years old, because I wanted to enjoy them in my lifetime,” says Liam. There is a lovely south-facing walled garden and a kitchen garden ensuring fresh daily produce. A yew walk echoes the famous one at Lismore Castle in Co Waterford, and stone steps lead to more walks throughout the grounds. The statuary everywhere is impressive, the highlight of which is an Italian fountain sourced by Kaye that cleverly anchors and connects Seafield’s striking façade with those sea views. Selling agent Roseanne de Vere Hunt believes the property’s major attraction apart from the compelling historic house is its accessibility to Dublin airport (within 10 minutes) and the city centre. There are few properties that offer the same substantial private acreage within such easy reach of the city. De Vere Hunt says there is a growing US market for European properties providing an escape from the US, and also interest among Asian buyers educating their children in Europe. Madeleine Lyons is Food & Drink Editor of The Irish Times is spending at least €2 million renovating Seafield House a 300-year-old Palladian mansion in Donabate who made up to €600 million selling his ecommerce company eShopWorld has applied to Fingal County Council for planning permission to put a two-storey extension on the side of the protected building The businessman bought Seafield House in late 2021 for a reported €10 million The property was sold by estate agent Sherry FitzGerald which Mr Kelly coincidentally bought last year Seafield House was reputedly designed by the architect Sir Edward Lovett Pearce whose other buildings include the Bank of Ireland building on College Green in Dublin including a coach and stable yard and a clock tower it has eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms over three floors The previous owners planted 600 trees on the grounds It was originally put on the market by Sherry FitzGerald in 2018 The mansion appeared on the TV series Selling Ireland’s Most Exclusive Homes An architectural heritage impact assessment on the proposed changes to Seafield has been submitted to Fingal planners by Deirdre Conroy, an architectural consultant as well as a Fianna Fáil councillor who recently made headlines over reports that she told a lodger that their rent of €260 a week was “very low” Her report says a programme of repairs is already under way at Seafield The house is surrounded by scaffolding and not currently habitable while “no expense has been spared” to ensure water does not get in The restoration of the roof and facade alone will cost more than €2 million Ms Conroy’s report says upgrades to the property such as putting in a modern open-plan kitchen and family diningroom were intended to cater for modern living requirements “It is proposed to install a lift from ground floor to first-floor level within the annex building to facilitate access to bedrooms in later years,” it says A space within the basement will be designed as guest accommodation The extension “will not have a significant effect on the essential character of this protected structure” Ms Conroy’s report claims that “many former mansions in Ireland end up derelict or demolished” and the new owner of Seafield is ensuring it remains in situ for years to come The planning application was made by Mr Kelly’s company The final date for third-party observations and submissions was July 27th Last year, Mr Kelly’s fund CastleGate Investments bought Sherry FitzGerald The entrepreneur’s family were farmers in Ballyboughal, not far from Donabate, and he went to agricultural college before going into haulage. He first established Two Way Forwarding and Logistics, which was bought in 2006 by Aramex, a Dubai-based company. Four years later he launched eShopWorld. John Burns is a contributor to The Irish Times A local Social Democrats councillor is calling for the repurposing of a property in Balcarrick, Donabate as a respite home for the psychiatrically and intellectually disabled. Ardeen House, Balcarrick, Donabate, Co Dublin, which now lies vacant, has previously been used a respite home for residents of St Brigid’s Psychiatric Hospital in Ardee, Co Louth. The HSE has recently responded to a parliamentary question tabled by Deputy Roisin Shorthall, which questioned the health board on the long-standing vacancy of the property. Cllr Mulville spoke to The Fingal Independent on the issue: “As I understand it, the property used to be a respite home for residents of St Brigid’s psychiatric hospital in Ardee, Co Louth. "Like in Portrane, residents there were able to come down for a stay at the beach to give them a break during the summer time. It was a respite, a holiday home and also a break for the families. It was for intellectual disability and for psychiatric patients. “There’s a lovely view there of the beach, it’s a small bungalow but it was very popular back in the day but then I think about seven or eight years ago the HSE just left it idle. "I know there was a local man, a caretaker looking after it, but then it started falling apart and people were breaking into it and it was being vandalised.” Cllr Mulville pointed out there is a big demand for respite care for people with disabilities in Fingal. A letter written by the HSE to Deputy Shorthall has confirmed the health board has commissioned a feasibility study on the property, with a view to repurposing the property as a respite facility. According to the letter to Deputy Shorthall, the feasibility study indicates that “the current layout, age and condition of the house would require extensive work to bring this property into use as a respite house.” The letter also stated a planning application would be required for the development. The HSE are engaging with Fingal County Council regarding the boundary treatment of the property, it was confirmed. The letter concluded: "The outputs of this engagement and the feasibility study will inform any decision on the future use of the property.” Cllr Mulville said: “What I would like to see is a refurbished respite facility for families in North County Dublin so that people who have an intellectual or psychiatric disability would have the opportunity to have some respite in Donabate for a couple of weeks a year, and then the family carers themselves would have a bit of a break as well. “Even before people were using it it was publicly owned property, so basically it’s State-sponsored dereliction, which is totally wrong. Basically it’s to restore it and refurbish it, it’s a great location beside the beach and the hotel, it’s a real kind of beauty spot. "It would be a great place for the person themselves to get a break, and if the HSE was to green-light it, there would be great community support for that.” Dublin News‘We would love to recruit younger donors and start them on a lifetime of blood donation’A new campaign has been launched encouraging people to consider becoming regular blood donors. Planning permission for a new six-kilometre walking and cycling route between Malahide and Donabate in north county Dublin has been lodged by Fingal County Council with An Bord Pleanála. The proposed development, Broadmeadow Way, would run between Malahide Demesne and Newbridge Demense in Donabate. It is expected that Broadmeadow Way would ultimately connect with the proposed Fingal Coastal Way, a 32km stretch of greenway connecting Donabate, Rush, Skerries, Ardgillan Castle, Balbriggan and Bremore Castle. Fingal County Council said if approved, the development would provide “an iconic route” for walkers and cyclists of all abilities and ages. Anne Marie Farrelly, interim chief executive of Fingal County Council said the project will bring "huge benefits to the communities along the route and provide a destination greenway for visitors to the area also". “We have an exciting programme of greenway infrastructure under development in Fingal at present and we plan to continue to develop a network of high quality greenways over the coming years, as part of our wider sustainable transport infrastructure programme, in order to realise the many benefits that this type of development can bring in terms of climate change, economic development, and health and leisure amenity,” she added. Paul Carroll, senior engineer said the scheme will provide a "scenic and direct route" between the growing communities of Malahide and Donabate, "as well as linking the two popular destinations of Malahide Castle and Newbridge House". “Considerable work has gone into bringing the scheme to this stage and a Natural Impact Statement, Environmental Impact Assessment Report and Compulsory Purchase Order will form part of the application. “We hope that anyone with an interest in the scheme will take the opportunity to provide their views on the proposal, and full details are available on the Fingal County Council public consultation online portal,” he added. Sarah Burns is a reporter for The Irish Times In its latest application, Cannon Kirk subsidiary Aledo Donabate and its partner on the project, Lioncor, has reduced the number of apartments for which it already has permission and replaced them with houses with back gardens. All told the new proposal consists of 1,020 units comprising a mix of 490 houses, 39 townhouses, 356 own-door duplex and triplex units, 84 apartments and 51 sheltered units. The original plan had comprised 369 houses, 352 duplex and triplex units, and 592 apartments. Although a spokesman for the developer said they had already consulted with the local Donabate community, including community groups, interested parties and local politicians in the area, a series of public meetings to showcase the proposed development are being planned for this month. Kevin Traynor, project director with Aledo Donabate Ltd, said: “We believe that the newly designed application goes a long way to provide critical housing supply and delivering homes to first-time buyers and people wishing to downsize and continue to enjoy living in the area. The new housing scheme will meet all the needs of social housing obligations in the region. The area being set aside for a nature park will remain at 13 hectares (32 acres), with links to the recently commenced Broadmeadow Estuary. This area is to be maintained in partnership with Fingal County Council. A cycle and pedestrian link to the approved Broadmeadow Greenway will be developed along with a cycle and pedestrian link between the proposed development and Donabate train station and Newbridge Demesne. Ronald Quinlan is Property Editor of The Irish Times