AroundtheBlock: The rumour mill is working overtime in Dublin 4 with the news that Michael O'Leary may have been the buyer of 10 Raglan Road, a large Victorian semi that was sold last week for around €9.4 million.
The house is just a couple of doors away from one owned by his arch rival of the moment, Denis O'Brien, though in fact the O'Briens do not live there, and are unlikely to in the future having splashed out on a sprawling Tudor-style home on Shrewsbury Road which they bought late last year for over €25 million. A spokesman for O'Leary said last night that the Ryanair boss "did not comment on personal matters" though he doesn't mind make making the odd personal remark - usually in full page advertisements - about his adversaries.
Elsewhere on Shrewsbury Road, numbers 1 and 3, two semi-detached houses on the corner of Merrion Road, have just changed hands for over €25 million. The new buyer here is though to be financier Derek Quinlan who currently lives in a more modest home on the same street which is currently being refurbished. Numbers 1 and 3, which last sold for around €13 million, were to have been converted to apartments, but a strong local lobby stopped that plan in its tracks, so any fancy notions for the properties going forward are also likely to be scrutinised by the increasingly touchy residents of Dublin's most precious road.
Booterstown residents rise up against 'alien erection'
The Tara Towers Hotel on the Merrion Road in Dublin 4 will survive the wrecker's ball for another while at least. Dublin City Council has put the kibosh on plans by developers Bernard McNamara and Jerry O'Reilly to demolish it to make way for a 25-storey "landmark" hotel, office and residential building twice the height of Liberty Hall.
The two were going to build the scheme as part of the second phase of their Elm Park development off the Merrion Road in Dublin 4. They were also looking to knock nine houses on Merrion Road, including Llandaff Terrace and Llandaff House, and St Columcille's House.
However, it seems Dublin City Council may have taken notice of complaints by the Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, FG Cllr Eugene Regan, about the proposed "skyscraper" close to the county boundary. He called it "unacceptable" that a development almost twice the height of Liberty Hall should be considered for this residential suburb. Dublin City Council echoed the sentiment by refusing permission on the basis of its impact and location in a primarily residential area. The city council said the excessive height and scale of the 25-storey glazed tower would create overshadowing and overlooking, and the demolition of Llandaff Terrace, Llandaff House and St Columcille's House, which are located in a residential conservation area, would be contrary to zoning in the Dublin City Development Plan 2005-2011.
The decision will no doubt come as a relief to the 30 or more objectors to the scheme, mainly from Bellevue and Dornden Park in Booterstown. One resident of Dornden Park described the high-rise tower as "undeniably like an alien erection against an otherwise beautiful landscape". She said the views of the bay would be destroyed "should such an appendage be allowed".
