Latest news with #Ranelagh
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Al Rahman takeaway review: Just enough spice to make your lips tingle at Ranelagh Indian
Al Rahman Fast Food and Indian Cuisine Address : 48 Ranelagh, Dublin 6, D06 K103, Ireland Telephone : 01 4853696 Cuisine : Indian Website : Cost : €€ What's on offer? Al Rahman in Ranelagh is your classic neighbourhood Indian restaurant. It has a familiar line-up, hefty portions, and a tendency to do the basics well enough to keep you coming back. It's built on reliable Indian and Pakistani classics. There's a broad spread of curries – bhuna, madras, jalfrezi, korma, rogan josh, vindaloo – mostly in chicken, lamb, prawn or vegetable versions, with rich onion gravies, tomato-based sauces and the odd mild coconut dish. It offers a small line-up of tandoori and grilled options too: sheek kebabs, chicken tikka, and mixed grills. For something more substantial, there are hearty biryanis in chicken, lamb or prawn, alongside basic pilau or boiled rice. Vegetarian dishes include daal tadka, saag paneer, vegetable curries and the standard fried starters such as samosas and onion bhajis. What did we order? Meat samosa, vegetable samosa, sheek kebab, daal tadka, garlic naan, prawn vindaloo with pilau rice, and lamb bhuna with pilau rice. How was the service? Ordering online was straightforward. The food arrived hot and in good condition. However, there were no dips for the samosas and kebab. READ MORE Was the food nice? The samosas were a highlight, particularly the vegetable one, which had proper chunks of carrot, peas, lentils and coriander seeds. It was more aromatic and complex than you'd expect from a standard takeaway. The sheek kebab was another winner: nicely charred, juicy inside, but the lack of a dipping sauce to drag it through did detract. The bhuna was the star – five chunky, tender pieces of lamb in a deeply savoury, slightly sweet sauce with good onion richness and curry leaves floating through. The vindaloo did its job, bringing the heat with a tomato-onion base and enough spice to make your lips tingle. The prawns were a bit sparse but fine. Next time I'd opt for lamb instead. The daal tadka was the weak link: watery, bland and outclassed by everything else. Not terrible, just uninspired. The pilau rice and garlic naan did a good job of mopping up the sauces. What about the packaging? Everything came in foil or plastic containers inside a paper bag. They're reusable, but, like most households, we're not in need of more plastic containers. What did it cost? €68.85 for dinner for three people: meat samosa, €5.99; vegetable samosa, €5.99; sheek kebab, €5.99; daal tadka, €12.99; garlic naan, €3.00; vindaloo with pilau rice, €16.45; bhuna with pilau rice, €15.45; and service fee, €2.99. Where does it deliver? Open Mon-Fri, 4pm–midnight; Sat-Sun, 4pm–3am. Delivery within a 5km radius. Would I order it again? Yes, but I'd stick to the meatier options and include the vegetable samosa. The mains come with pilau rice, which makes the pricing decent.
Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Times
Ranelagh electric car owner ordered to remove ‘unauthorised' charging arm by council
A Dublin electric car owner has said he may have to return to diesel or petrol after being ordered by Dublin City Council to remove an 'unauthorised' charging arm installed in his front garden. The man in his 40s who lives in Ranelagh with his wife and children, opted to transition to an electric vehicle (EV) two years ago and installed the charging arm at the same time, citing a dearth of public charging points in the city. The arm, which cost €3,500, is 'excellent' he said, adding that without it, owning an EV is 'just not viable'. Like most houses in the area, his home has no off-street parking. The pole installed in his front garden hosts an arm which extends over the footpath allowing a cable to reach his car. READ MORE [ EV Q&A: Why doesn't Ireland use roadside furniture for charging electric vehicles? Opens in new window ] The man who wished to remain anonymous over fears the council would 'come and remove it the next day' said he charges his car at night, sometimes just once a week depending on usage, at a cost of about €15. He received a letter in March from the council saying the arm is not exempt from planning permission and is therefore 'unauthorised'. It ordered him to remove it within two months. 'We're in wait-and-see mode, I think they will insist on us taking it down and if they do, I think we will sell the car and buy a diesel or petrol,' he said. Although there are 'loads' of similar charging arms installed in nearby front gardens, 'we're the only ones being targeted,' he said, believing enforcement is being carried out on foot of complaints only. 'There was one complaint, I think the person complained twice, and they have to act,' he said. 'I'm just guessing someone didn't like the look of it.' The man, who was unaware that planning permission was required for the arm described it as 'incredibly frustrating' and 'completely at odds' with a Government drive to switch to EV. 'We're an example of someone trying to do our part and we seem to be penalised for it,' he said. [ Electric vehicle Q&A: What if I can't charge at home? Opens in new window ] Saying there are no public charging points in the immediate area, those littered across the city are heavily oversubscribed and rarely available. 'If there were loads of them around and they were available, even though they're more expensive, we would use them. It's the lack of them that's the key issue,' he said. Fianna Fáil councillor Rory Hogan, who is raising the issue with Dublin City Council officials, said thousands of homes without driveways are 'caught between a curb and the climate.' 'On one hand, policy encourages environmentally friendly choices like electric vehicles and on the other, outdated planning rules actively block the infrastructure needed to support them,' he said adding that 'mixed messages' are being sent to the public. Dublin City Council did not respond to requests for comment.
Irish Times
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
New sheriff Jim O'Callaghan took Leaders' Questions. Expectations were modest…
There's a new sheriff in town. He moseyed into Dáil Éireann from the badlands of Ranelagh, all tooled up with his briefing notes, ready for his first day on the Leaders' Questions beat. Big Jim O'Callaghan . 'Go ahead, guys. Like, make my day?' READ MORE The Dirty Jimmy of Dublin 4. Maybe not. With the Taoiseach and Tánaiste abroad on business, somebody had to represent the Government at Leaders' Questions. O'Callaghan, the Minister for Justice, finally got the call. How would he fare? Expectations were modest. His political persona is more PC Plod than maverick cop. But Dublin 4 renegade, Mary Lou McDonald , might have been up for the scrap. Jim was careful not to draw her magnum-force ire upon himself. That's what his boss Micheál is there for. 'You've got to ask yourself one question, Taoiseach: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?' That's more or less the vibe at the start of their regular Dáil scuffles. It was infinitely more civilised with Big Jim on Wednesday. As it happened, his debut at Leaders' Questions coincided with a day when law and order matters were high on the political agenda. So, as a Minister for Justice and, until very recently, a practising senior counsel, he was lucky to be drafted in when his specialist subject was in the spotlight. The newly published annual report from Women's Aid was raised by Sinn Féin , Labour and the Social Democrats . It charts an alarming rise in the number of women contacting the charity to report abuse by partners and ex-partners including crimes of rape, sexual assault, physical attacks, coercive control and death threats to mothers and even their children. Women's Aid reached a grim milestone last year, receiving the highest number of disclosures and requests for help in its 50-year history. O'Callaghan was very well informed on the new figures, on the current law and on the legislation he says he is bringing forward. He thanked the Sinn Féin leader for raising the issue. 'In fact, at 11 o'clock this morning, I was down in Wood Quay and I launched that report.' Not a bad start. Some people might have been thinking he was chosen for Leaders' Questions precisely because of that. He had nothing but praise for the excellent work done by Women's Aid over the last 51 years. Among the many shortcomings in the services available to victims, Mary Lou McDonald pointed to the continuing absence of a register of convicted domestic abusers which could protect women from repeat offenders. 'That's the aim of legislation named in honour of Jennie Poole. Jennie was stabbed to death by her abuser in 2021 – a man with a history of violence against women. She didn't know that. Neither did her family. Jennie was 24.' Her brother Jason has been pushing hard to get such a register in place. 'I had the privilege last week of meeting Jason Poole,' the Minister replied, adding that 'work is ongoing' in his department to find a way of making that information available. Big Jim also made sure to credit his predecessor in Justice, Helen McEntee . She did a lot of work on domestic violence, an achievement that many of her online detractors seemed to view as evidence of galloping wokery and misandry in Government. 'It is something that I am not going to allow to become less significant than it was during her tenure,' Jim stressed. He agreed with Mary Lou that the first response to a woman who is a victim of abuse should not be a rush to find a refuge space for her but to find a way to get her abuser out of the house. On the day after the Taoiseach was berated for listing Government measures to ease the financial burden on families struggling with the rising cost of living (while apparently committing the crime of not sounding sufficiently sympathetic to their plight), his Minister for Justice had that angle covered. 'Behind each of these statistics is a story, and, really, we just can't get lost in the narrative of statistics.' Labour leader Ivana Bacik was not alone in calling the situation an epidemic. While she welcomed the measures which have been and will be introduced, she said these laws will be ineffective if gardaí, the first line of defence, did not implement them adequately. The figures from Women's Aid showed that almost half of the women who went to their local gardaí for help felt the response they received was 'unhelpful'. Big Jim went for the glass half full response: more than half of the women who contacted them felt they got a positive response. He accepted there could be more training for officers, but dealing with the problem goes far deeper than that. Domestic abuse should not be 'compartmentalised' as a women's issue, he said. 'It's as much an issue for men and boys ... because, regrettably, my sex are the sex that perpetuate this violence against women to a large extent. We have to start warning boys and young men about the unacceptability of using violence in the relationship.' This pre-empted the contribution from Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats, who said men's violence against women was a crisis that men must be part of solving. Violence against women is nothing new, but social media is supercharging it 'As men, we need to do more than shake our heads. We must call out violence when we see it because to be silent is to be complicit.' Domestic violence is an 'insidious' crime that 'thrives in silence and shame and in the shadows but is everywhere, in every parish, every institution, every workplace.' Gary fears for the future. 'Violence against women is nothing new, but social media is supercharging it ... We are now living in a culture where perpetrators of abuse are not only tolerated – they are celebrated. They are the president of the United States, they are sports stars with multimillion-euro contracts, they are influencers poisoning our young men with misogyny packaged as self-help. 'This network of anti-women communities online, full of grifters, abusers and con men, is flooding social media with hate. And, as a State, we are doing almost nothing to stop it.' Regulating the algorithms and the tech companies platforming the misogyny is a job that will have to be tackled at an EU level, the minister said. Gary agreed Europe had a role, but pointed out that the tech companies were based in this country. He suggested Ireland could take the lead by applying data protection regulation standards to those companies. This was one of the few times, in all the years of debates and discussions in the Dáil about violence against women, when the contributions from male speakers rose above the level of sincere condoling, puzzled hand-wringing and making sure to say the right thing. There was understanding here too. Granted, it was only two deputies having a discussion during Leaders' Questions. But it was good to hear. 'Deputy, I appreciate the fact that, as a man, you've identified this is predominantly a man's issue because of the fact that violence against women is perpetrated by men,' Jim said to Gary. The new sheriff didn't do too badly at all on his first day in town. All he has to do now is start producing the results.
Irish Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Smart two-bed townhouse on Ranelagh's Mountpleasant Place for €695,000
Address : 6 Mountpleasant Place, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Price : €695,000 Agent : Sherry FitzGerald View this property on Veering off Ranelagh Road , parallel to the entrance to Mountpleasant Square , is Mountpleasant Place. On the right-hand side – before the stretch becomes Oxford Road – lies 6 Mountpleasant Place: a fully refurbished two-bedroom house. It appears on the Property Price Register as having sold in January this year for the sum of €525,000, when the 67sq m (720sq ft) redbrick house had an F Ber and needed upgrading. Now fully renovated with a B3 Ber, all new owners will have to do is unpack. A sittingroom just inside the front door, warmed by an open fireplace, has new panelling and Crittall-style doors that now flood the room with light. New wide-plank wooden flooring – which runs throughout downstairs – leads down the hallway to a now streamlined kitchen/dining space. Behind a stable door, a cleverly concealed bathroom with a shower lies at the end of this space adjacent to black framed sliding doors that open out to a small city courtyard. Hall Sittingroom New streamlined kitchen Kitchen/dining area Off the landing upstairs are two double bedrooms now in turnkey condition. New additions here include an exposed brick wall in the second bedroom adding interest and a bit of heritage and a new clever en suite in the main bedroom. Here the bathroom is located behind a set of mirrored sliding doors so it can be closed off. The fact that the door slides open means that it takes up less space than a hinged opening, in keeping with the smart, space-saving bathroom downstairs. READ MORE The property also has new double-glazed sash windows in a nod to its heritage, while also contributing to its B3 Ber. The location will be ideal for some. A short stroll to the villages of Ranelagh and Rathmines , it is convenient to the city centre, as Grafton Street is under 2km away. It's a two-minute walk to the Luas in Ranelagh, and the area is served by numerous schools. It is also just a few steps from The Hill public house, which is now one of the most popular places for locals to have a midweek pint after work. For those with a penchant for tennis, Mount Pleasant Tennis Club is practically on the doorstep with 11 all-weather courts, professional coaching and year-round competitions. There's also a squash club. Door to small courtyard adjacent to the downstairs loo Small outside space En suite in the principal bedroom is cleverly hidden behind sliding doors Bedroom 2 The sale is a flip, as all works have been completed over the past few months, so the headaches of renovation will not be on the new owners' shoulders. Number 6 Mountpleasant Place, a now restored classic Ranelagh terraced townhouse, just around the corner from Dublin's only curved Georgian square, is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €695,000.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Elegant Ranelagh villa a short hop from the Luas for €1.595m
Address : 12 Beechwood Avenue Upper, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Price : €1,595,000 Agent : DNG Donnybrook View this property on The owners of 12 Beechwood Avenue in Ranelagh bought the three-bedroom two-storey villa in 2013, but only began serious renovations in 2019. As soon as they walked into the house number 12, they knew it was right. 'It was the feel of it, from the big open hallway to the basement, we adored the quirkiness of it,' says one of the owners. Extensive renovations and redecorating saw them put their own stamp firmly on their 165sq m (1,776 sq ft) home, while keeping some features installed by the previous owners in the bedrooms and bathrooms. The Ber is C3. On the left of the roomy entrance hall, floored in tiles by Fired Earth, is the sittingroom. It is painted in dark lead grey shade of Farrow & Ball's Downpipe and the moodiness of the colour is offset with a pale grey carpet and a bright stone mantlepiece over the gas inset fireplace. Built-in shelves flank the fireplace and one is low and wide enough to serve as a desk. There's a bench under the window with storage beneath it. READ MORE Entrance Hallway Sittingroom Kitchen Kitchen Living area Back in the hall, steps lead down to the kitchen with a living area behind it. A Crittall-style doorframe creates a divide between the hall and the kitchen and there's a guest WC to the left. The kitchen and living area is a truly impressive space, with a dark-blue painted kitchen with a concealed pantry. A large island has more storage underneath and a Silestone top that waterfalls to the floor. The attention to detail and evident thought that has gone into the functioning of the space is obvious, from the direction spots lights to the specially commissioned narrow brass rectangular handles on all the unit doors. Past the kitchen there's a superb large, panelled living area with long storage benches on either side painted in blue-black shade Railings by Farrow & Ball and overlooking the garden. The garden faces southwest, getting the best of the sun throughout the day. A mature olive tree and thriving beds of lavender sit well with an abundant jasmine plant on the back wall. There's a plumbed shed in the back garden that previous owners used for washing appliances, and still could be used for this purpose. A long side passage leads back to the front of the house and could be covered over to provide more garden storage. Basement home office/media room Main bedroom En-suite bathroom Bedroom Bedroom Garden All laundry business has now been moved to the basement, which was renovated by the owners and now has a utility and a multipurpose home office/media room, with more of the panelling and understated lighting that works so well in the living area. On the first floor there are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of which is a large family bathroom. Behind it is a pretty bedroom with animal wallpaper and dual-aspect windows in the corner. Across the hall another child's bedroom and at the end of this floor, a lovely main bedroom with lots of wardrobes and a great en suite. A three-minute walk away, at the end of the avenue, is Beechwood Luas stop – the line is directly behind the back garden so the swoosh of the tram is often there. Sporting facilities nearby include Mount Pleasant Lawn Tennis Club, the David Lloyd gym and Milltown Golf Club. Gonzaga and Alexandra schools are within walking distance and Sandford Park and Ranelagh Multi-Denominational primary school are also a short walk away. This is a beautiful family home in great condition, ready to move into. Number 12 Beechwood Avenue is on the market with DNG Donnybrook seeking €1.595 million.
