COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM / TEMPLEOGUE / FIRHOUSE / BOHERNABREENA AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

MOTION NO.18

MOTION: Councillor Y. Collins

That this Council furnishes more information in relation to the proposed development of Rathfarnham Castle Stables and outbuildings, and, specifically, why the north courtyards are being developed rather than, instead, continuing the recent development works on the south courtyard, using the north courtyards for car parking and preserving the relatively recently created and much valued Sean Keating garden.

REPORT:

Rathfarnham Castle is a popular visitor attraction in South Dublin. Four historic stable courtyards adjoin the Castle in a beautiful parkland setting. South Dublin County Council intends to develop two of these courtyards as a retail/hospitality and leisure offering. The Council will design and construct a high-quality flexible building, which provides for a diverse range of complementary uses. In doing so, the Council recently finalised a tender process, where a future operator for this new facility was secured. As part of developing the new facility, accessible public transport, and active-travel options, including the nearby Dodder Greenway will be complemented by convenient parking.

The Council has selected an Archaeologist to carry out onsite monitoring of fieldwork at the location and have recently appointed an architect led design team to work on the design of the new hospitality facility. The design team will also look at the overall footprint of the courtyard buildings and develop a high-level masterplan, as to how future phases of the overall redevelopment of the courtyards could potentially be achieved, taking into consideration the built, cultural and heritage aspects of the site, conservation requirements, archaeology, utility provision, accessibility, design and land-use considerations, as well as development costs.  

The development to the newly proposed facility will be located in the two most northern courtyards, with remaining courtyards consisting of a number of historically important buildings. These buildings benefited from conservation and remedial works in 2018. This followed initial works completed earlier in 2017 to clear out heavy vegetation and plant growth which prevented a proper survey of the wall and building conditions. Any future development of these buildings will require significant investment given their conservation status, meeting universal accessibility requirements, and providing for viable uses having due regard to the existing historic fabric of the buildings, archaeology and servicing the buildings with public utilities such as electricity etc.  

Survey work has only recently commenced as part of the preparation of the Part 8 for the newly proposed hospitality development, so it is too early in the process to determine if the new development will have any impact on the adjoining Sean Keating garden. This will be considered as part of the building’s design, with any final design for the development being subject to public consultation as part of the Part 8 process.