Latest news with #Dublin4
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Does owning a barge restaurant float your boat? La Peniche on Grand Canal in Dublin 4 guiding at €350,000
The Riasc, trading as La Peniche, is a familiar floating landmark at the fourth lock of the Grand Canal on Mespil Road in Dublin 4 . Moored on the south bank of the canal, the lipstick-red vessel commands a prime location, with footfall from office workers at the European headquarters of both LinkedIn and Irish-founded fintech Stripe at Iput's newly developed Wilton Park across the water. This corner of the city has been a cultural hub since poet Patrick Kavanagh and novelist and playwright Brendan Behan traded insults, in between sipping pints of stout and balls of malt. A bronze of Kavanagh sits on his favourite park bench here, where he drew inspiration for the poem entitled Lines Written on a Seat on the Grand Canal, Dublin. The Riasc barge is a familiar landmark on the Grand Canal. Photograph: Alan Betson The Dutch barge, whose mooring location is protected, was designed by Captain Sam Field Corbett, a businessman who owns 12 craft and who got his sea legs sailing the waterway with his father on a 60-footer on trips west to the Shannon as a child. READ MORE 'I had it built at a shipyard in the UK,' he explains. It was 1998. Dublin was beginning to boom. His sister Clodagh was coming home from San Francisco and wanted to open a cafe. He suggested she set up business on the barge. She was soon turning out about 130 meals a day from its compact galley, which Field Corbett estimates measures about 12sq m (130sq ft). The physical space the chef has to work in amounts to about 26sq ft, less than 2.5sq m. About a decade later he set up La Peniche, partnering with Eric Tydgadt of Belgian restaurant La Mer Zou, which at the time was located on St Stephen's Green. 'I build and design the boats and work closely with the operators. I don't run the businesses but have a shareholding in each,' says Field Corbett. The barge sets sail from Mespil Road up the canal to below Ranelagh bridge, offering diners a moving tableau of vistas as guests work their way through their courses. The Riasc sailing west on the Grand Canal The barge in one of the canal's locks The business operates successfully; Field Corbett says turnover was about €400,380 in 2024 and €360,000 in 2023. A cafe element is currently occupied and trading under a tenant who pays €26,000 per annum. The lease has expired, but the tenant has expressed willingness to renew under agreeable terms. Field Corbett studied at Cork Maritime College and trained aboard the MV Cill Airne, a 1960s vessel that he now owns; moored on the river Liffey at North Wall Quay, it operates as a boat bar and bistro. Another of his fleet is the canal-boat restaurant Cadhla , a 1922 Guinness brewery barge. He feels there is scope to develop the daytime business of the MV Riasc: 'It could become a co-working space or a coffee shop.' There is high footfall and a thriving lunchtime market in the immediate area. 'People are looking for experiences, for something different,' says selling agent Dave McCarthy of Drinks Advisor Ltd, which is seeking offers in excess of €350,000. 'The barge is very Instragrammable.' The vessel extends to about 148sq m (1,600sq ft). The saloon-like diningroom on its lower deck can accommodate up to 40 people. Its furniture comprises built-in seating with drop-leaf tables and affixed lamps. The tables can be moved to accommodate different-sized parties and then resecured in place. About the same number of diners can be seated under a canvas awning on the upper deck. La Peniche: The lower deck can accommodate about 40 diners. Photograph: Alan Betson The boat operates under all necessary safety, food hygiene and waterways regulations and is moored via a long-standing arrangement which will transfer to the new owner, subject to approval. After 26 years in business, Field Corbett is weighing anchor and setting sail in a new direction. Ever an adventurous spirit, he is expanding his business, in which escape rooms are installed on vessels of varying sizes in Dublin's docklands and on the quays in Galway, where he bought a dock in 2009. His Sea Stay Galway enterprise, meanwhile, rents out boats as tourist accommodation.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Smart two-bedroom townhouse near UCD for €565,000
Address : 11 Nutley Square, Greenfield Park, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Price : €565,000 Agent : DNG View this property on Nutley Square, a distinctive brick-fronted residential development , is hidden away off the Stillorgan Road in Donnybrook , Dublin 4. Accessed from Greenfield Park (opposite the Nutley Lane junction) it comprises a series of mews-style homes arranged around a central courtyard, offering a sense of community and privacy. Constructed in the 1980s, it is now a mature, well-established neighbourhood, backing on to the grounds of UCD. Number 11, a two-bedroom midterrace house, has just been listed through estate agent DNG. Extending to 75sq m (807sq ft), one of the nicest rooms in the brick-fronted home is the conservatory to the rear. Currently used as a diningroom, it has a large roof light overhead which tends to flood the room with light. The fact the room is not entirely glazed – as some conservatories are – means it won't become overheated in summer months. From here, double doors lead to the rear garden, which is really a lovely low-maintenance space filled with potted plants, an interesting wall feature and space at the end for summer dining. [ Stylish, light-filled Stoneybatter redbrick for €525,000 Opens in new window ] Kitchen A separate kitchen - though with a convenient service hatch - lies just inside the front door, allowing the more formal living and dining spaces to flow into one another, though they can be closed off thanks to a set of pocket doors. Its neutral palette allows light to bounce around the livingroom, which has laminate flooring and a marble chimneypiece with an open fire. Livingroom There are two double bedrooms upstairs: one lying to the front and a second to the rear. Both are well-lit thanks to having two windows each, and both share a good-sized bathroom, which has a shower and bath. READ MORE Bedroom 1 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Its Ber is D1, which new owners may want to address to improve its energy efficiency, and its annual service charge, for upkeep of the scheme's common area, is about €734 per annum. There is parking for one car out front, with further visitor spaces in the courtyard. Diningroom Rear garden The property is within easy reach of renowned primary and secondary schools such as St Mary's National School and The Teresian School, and for commuters the location is very convenient, with several Dublin Bus routes to the city centre on the QBC up the road, while UCD's Belfield campus, St Vincent's University Hospital and Donnybrook village are all located nearby. In excellent order, number 11 Nutley Square is now available for sale through DNG seeking €565,000.
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Crampton-built home on secret street at Sydney Parade for €1.395m
Address : 4 Ailesbury Gardens, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Price : €1,395,000 Agent : DNG View this property on On the Sandymount side of the level crossing at Sydney Parade Dart station, this secret street runs parallel to the train line and links to the seafront at Sandymount's Strand Road via St Alban's Park. It is also within a couple of minutes' walk of the Merrion Centre. If you run out of milk, you could put the kettle on and probably be back home before it had boiled. This Dublin 4 road features 1930s Crampton-built homes that come with an unusual added extra: a small plot of land on the far side of the street that abuts the station's granite wall. Number 4 , tucked behind a privet hedge, is a well-maintained four-bedroom house whose entrance is to the side, giving you extra space inside and the full width at the front of this home to inhabit. READ MORE The front door opens into a decent-sized hallway with a nicely proportioned livingroom and a family room immediately on the left and facing out on to the front garden. Some neighbours have opened these two rooms up to create interconnecting spaces. [ Look inside: Superbly designed house and mews with unparalleled views over Killiney Bay for €7.25m Opens in new window ] Livingroom Kitchen and dining area Library Conservatory-diningroom There is a guest WC off the hall and the staircase winds around it. A signature style of homes of this vintage, it means the stairs are visually unobtrusive. The back of the house is where a new owner may look to make some changes. One could, for example, decide to merge the this home's office, conservatory-diningroom and kitchen to take better advantage of the morning sun that streams into the rear of the property. [ Rathmichael home offers rarified retreat in serene, sylvan setting for €3.25m Opens in new window ] The house's dining area opens out to a large garden that extends to about 30m (98ft) in length and is very private. There is scope to extend here subject to the conditions surrounding planning permission governing rear extensions. Bedroom Landing Hall Driveway Rear The detached garage, is set well the back from the house and can also be accessed from the garden. Upstairs there are four bedrooms with a separate WC and bathroom. While many would consider this to be somewhat old-fashioned, it's a practical layout that allows busy morning households to make use of both rooms simultaneously. The property has off-street parking for two cars parked end to end and has a well-planted front garden that gets gorgeous western sun. The semi-d, which extends to a generous 164sq m (1,765sq ft) and has an E2 Ber rating, is seeking €1.395 million through agent DNG. These houses rarely come to market. The last one listed on the property price register was in October 2012, when number 2 sold for €851,000. Now there are two up for sale simultaneously. Three doors up, number 7 Ailesbury Gardens, is on the market through agent Allen & Jacob. It also has four bedrooms, with three bathrooms, and 202sq m (2,174sq ft) of space, and the D2 Ber-rated property is seeking €1.495 million.
Irish Times
30-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Dublin 4 residents object to proposed health centre over fears of drug, STI treatment offering
Residents and business owners in Dublin 4 have objected to a primary care centre planned by the HSE over concerns it may be a 'massive drug and sexual treatment centre'. Plans submitted to Dublin City Council detail a primary care centre ranging in height from three to six storeys on part of the site of the former Baggot Street hospital, with objectors describing the project as 'over the top' and inconsistent with the local area. The centre would be developed at the junction of Haddington Road and Eastmoreland Lane, while the remainder of the complex is set to be sold on the open market as no State agency wanted to take it over. Other objectors lamented how the HSE has 'failed' to maintain the former Baggot Street hospital, a protected structure described as 'the most prominent structure in the Upper Baggot Street area.' READ MORE A central and consistent complaint was borne from the belief the development might provide addiction and sexually-transmitted-infection (STI) treatment services. Writing to Dublin City Council last month on behalf of the Pembroke Road Association, Susan McCarrick said the 'ambiguity' surrounding service provision raises alarm about the potential introduction of services 'fundamentally unsuited' to the location. A particular concern for the association, which represents a 'substantial' cohort of residents, property owners and civic stakeholders, is the possible provision of addiction-related services. Although services such as methadone maintenance treatment, needle exchange programmes and detoxification support are 'essential,' Ms McCarrick said they would be 'entirely inappropriate' due to the planned centre's proximity to schools, childcare and 'pedestrian-heavy streetscapes'. [ Former Baggot Street hospital building to be sold on the open market Opens in new window ] She said such services must be situated in locations that are 'purpose-designed, contextually appropriate and buffered from vulnerable populations.' Oonagh O'Hagan, owner and managing director of Meaghers Pharmacy Group which has a pharmacy on Baggot Street, said traders have experienced shoplifting, open drug dealing and loitering in the past when a methadone clinic operated there previously. 'We have serious worries about the safety of our store and our team,' she said, adding that staff previously faced 'threats with weapons, including syringes, knives and even guns'. 'I am not for a moment alleging that the service users are to blame for these issues, however it is unfortunate that these facilities attract those who wish to exploit those service users by dealing drugs, targeting them for antisocial behaviour,' she said. Noting that tourists frequent the area, Ms O'Hagan said the development could tarnish its reputation, 'as well as that of the capital city and Ireland as a whole.' Haddington Road residents Noah Dixon and Michelle Morrisroe claimed the planning application was being portrayed as a primary care centre for locals 'but it will be a massive drug and sexual treatment centre for a greater part of the Dublin southeast area'. Bryan Kearney, another resident of Haddington Road, wrote that a drug treatment centre and STI clinic would 'destroy the whole neighbourhood.' Noting the concerns raised over the centre's final use, the planning department said this falls under the remit of the HSE and granted permission saying it would provide a 'valuable service.' It set out several conditions including the removal of one of the floors. It also criticised the HSE over its delay in disposing of the former Baggot Street hospital, saying such a delay in refurbishing the protected structure would have had a 'detrimental impact on the very fabric that is to be protected'. Asked about the objections, a spokeswoman for the HSE said it is 'currently working to decide which services will be located in the new centre.' Those currently under consideration, she said, include GP services, public health nurses, social work and child protection services, child health, services for older people, and physiotherapy.
