Dublin City Council (DCC) has approved plans for the beloved Kiely’s pub in Donnybrook to be demolished, with the space to be used for a new co-living scheme instead.
Put up for sale back in April 2018, the iconic pub was a much-loved favourite of locals in the area as well as those attending rugby matches at the neighbouring Donnybrook Stadium.
Lodging an application for permission to remove Kiely’s pub, Westridge Real Estate – the current owners of the site – confirmed that they had big plans for the place, revealing back in September 2020 that they hoped to replace the building with a six-storey co-living space instead.
Since giving those plans the green light, DCC has approved Westridge’s application despite 115 objections lodged against it, including one from Dublin Lord Mayor Hazel Chu. Already scaling plans from seven-storeys down to six, DCC has ordered for the number of living units to reduced once again in order to reduce the building’s impact on neighbouring properties.
The Irish Independent reports that the council has also ordered all rooms have a minimum width of 3m which will further lessen the number of shared living units included in the proposal.
Reaching peak fame after appearing in Paul Howard’s Ross O’Carroll-Kelly books, the well-known boozer was a staple on the Dublin pub scene for many years and patrons are less than happy to hear that it will soon be no more.
It’s believed that the space could be fully operational in two to three year’s time when developers envision that there will be a renewed demand for shared accommodation.
Header image via Facebook/Kiely’s of Donnybrook
