St Luke’s sold for €180,000 above the asking price

Fianna Fáil has finalised a deal to sell former taoiseach Bertie Ahern's former constituency base of St Luke's for almost €180,000 above the asking price.

At a meeting last night, the party’s ard chomhairle approved the sale for €774,000, well above the initial asking price of €595,0000.

The 1,900sq ft Drumcondra building, opposite Fagan's, Mr Ahern's local pub, was put on the market in March.

Party sources said the proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down debt and to help fund the upcoming general election campaign.

“There was a lot of interest when bidding was on,” said one source.

Mahon Tribunal

The building and the cost of operating it were a major element of the investigations of the Mahon Tribunal in 2008, which ultimately drove Mr Ahern from government.

St Luke’s was bought in 1988 for £56,000 (about €78,000) by a group of Mr Ahern’s associates shortly after he had separated from his wife.

Under the arrangement, the group established a trust administered by some of Mr Ahern's closest followers, including Des Richardson, Joe Burke and Tim Collins, who came to be known as the Drumcondra Mafia.

The trust finally signed the building over to Fianna Fáil in late 2012.