27th January (Issue 529)
Welcome to the Origin Capital Weekly Irish Property Review. This update is designed to provide you with a full recap of the latest property news from the media over the last seven days.
Hospitality
Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath The Corscadden family, owners of the Romantic Castles of Ireland hotel collection, have set up a joint venture with builder Joe O’Reilly to develop Killeen Castle, which dates back to 1181. O’Reilly acquired the castle and its 560-acre estate in 1997. The resort hosted the 2011 Solheim Cup and has a clubhouse and events centre with more than 70 residential properties on the estate. It is understood that O’Reilly will sell lands to the joint venture company and take a 37% stake. Redevelopment is likely to be on a phased basis given the considerable cost in refurbishing the castle. A lapsed planning permission allowed for a 202-bedroom hotel, though this was scaled down more recently to 177 bedrooms. The Killeen Castle website includes plans for a 43-bedroom guest facility beside the castle which will be built while the castle restoration and renovation is completed. Details of the joint venture development plans are expected next month. The Sunday Times, 25th January
Retail
Blackrock, Co. Dublin The owners of Frascati shopping centre are preparing to bring the mall to the market. Invesco, a US real estate investor that purchased the centre in 2015, has appointed Cushman & Wakefield to handle the sale, The Sunday Times understands. Invesco purchased the mall from the Roche family for €68m in what was its first investment in Ireland. It has gone on to redevelop the centre alongside Burlington Real Estate, now owned by the British asset manager Gresham House. The development included adding 42 rental apartments above the mall and securing planning permission for another 120 units. The mall measures over 220,000 sq. ft and its retail tenants include Marks & Spencer, Aldi, Boots and Home Store & More. The asset managers have changed the mix of units, adding a medical centre and gym. The centre is expected to come on the market in March. Property sources say it could be anywhere from €70m to €100m. It was reported in 2023 that Invesco had quietly put the centre on the market for €100m. However, it is understood the sale was withdrawn after the fund behind the centre partially satisfied some of its debt to Bank of Ireland. Invesco and Cushman & Wakefield declined to comment. The Sunday Times, 25th January
Industrial
Greater Dublin Area Logistics and warehouse specialist Rohan Holdings is advancing the construction of its next phase of units in three business parks around the M50 motorway and expects to have more than 500,000 sq. ft of space under construction by mid-2026. At Dublin Airport Logistics Park, construction has now commenced on the next speculative building at this scheme. Goldcrest House, which extends to 60,000 sq. ft and due for completion in the final quarter of this year, will comprise a high-bay warehouse and office facility with a large secure yard. The building has an A-rated BER. Rohan Holdings has also commenced construction of an essential-mail distribution centre for An Post at its North City Business Park development, which faces on to the M50 at Junction 5 (Finglas). Rohan has planning permission in place for three additional speculative units in this park, ranging in size from 20,000 sq. ft to 40,000 sq. ft, which can be delivered within 12 months. At its Southwest Business Park, which adjoins the Cheeverstown Luas stop in Citywest, Rohan is tendering the works packages for a 162,500 sq. ft headquarters-style warehouse and office facility it intends to commence in the second quarter of 2026. The Irish Times, 21st January
Mixed Use
Montague Street, Dublin 2 The O’Callaghan Collection has paid over €12m for Montague Court, a 1970s office building primed for redevelopment in the heart of Dublin’s south city centre. The price paid represents a discount of approx. 9% on the €13.2m which had been guided for the property when it was brought to the market by agent HWBC last October. Located just off Harcourt Street and within close proximity to St Stephen’s Green, Montague Court was developed originally in 1973. While it was refurbished in 1999, the building’s age is evident from the fact that it extends to just 27,000 sq. ft while occupying a site, which at 0.476 acres, would be capable of accommodating a development of up to 100,000 sq. ft. The building is zoned “Zone Z5 – City Centre” under the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028. This designation allows for a range of uses including office, hotel, student accommodation, medical and related consultants and tourist hostel. Feasibility studies prepared by RKD Architects before the sale suggest the site has potential for the development of a new eight-storey over-basement office building of about 103,000 sq. ft or alternatively a new 133-bedroom hotel or a purpose-built 154-unit student accommodation block, all subject to planning permission. RKD have also explored the options for refurbishing and extending the existing structure. The building is fully let until at least 2028 and is generating about €1.12m in annual rental income from a strong tenant line-up that includes the Department of Justice and Romeril Forensic Engineers. In the case of the former, the lease has a further 4.5 years to expiry. The Irish Times, 21st January
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
N&W Capital, a Dutch family office, has completed the acquisition for approx. €50m of Kilcarbery Square, a fully stabilised private rented sector (PRS) investment comprising 115 newly developed apartments in Dublin 22. N&W acquired the apartment portfolio shortly before Christmas from funds managed by US-headquartered investor TPG Angelo Gordon and its local partner, Carysfort Capital. The price paid equates to an average of €434,782 per unit. The apartments comprise a mix of one, two and three-bedroom units and are arranged across three blocks known as Newgrange Hall, Nangor Hall and Corkagh Hall. The apartments form part of the wider Kilcarbery Grange development of more than 1,000 new homes near Clondalkin. The Irish Times, 21st January
Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Clonturk House, built originally in 1830 on Ormond Road and sitting on 1.3 acres, is being offered to the market at a guide price of €3.75m by Knight Frank. The house, which served most recently as a home for the blind until its closure in 2009, extends to 16,124 sq. ft and comprises a detached, six-bay, two-storey-over-basement property. Internally, the house features high ceilings and generous room sizes, with a two-storey extension to the rear consisting of a number of office rooms, en suite bedrooms and residential amenities including a commercial kitchen, dining hall, library and several communal living areas. The main house is complemented by Cottrell Lodge, a detached two-storey redbrick building extending to 2,011 sq. ft and comprising en suite bedrooms and kitchen facilities. The subject site falls under the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028 and is zoned Z2 Residential Neighbourhoods (Conservation Area). Uses permitted in principle under this zoning objective include residential, medical and related consultants, education, embassy/office, primary healthcare centre and student accommodation. The Irish Times, 21st January
Carlow Lisney is guiding a price of €5m for a 14 acre land holding 2.5km from Carlow town with residential development potential. Located on Palatine Road and immediately adjacent to the established Pollerton Manor housing estate, the subject site comprises seven acres zoned for new residential use under the Carlow County Development Plan, with the remaining seven acres proposed to be zoned for new residential development under variation number four of the plan. The lands are well connected to the local and national road network, with the M9 motorway situated 7km away, The property benefits from dual-access points from both the main Palatine Road and a secondary connecting road to the east. The Irish Times, 21st January
Mahon, County Cork Hibernia Star Ltd, linked to McCarthy Developments (Cork) Ltd, has just lodged an application for a 10-year planning permission for a large-scale residential development of 556 units across four blocks at Jacob’s Island in Mahon, as part of an ongoing €750m development, expected to ultimately deliver more than 1,200 homes. The scheme will be halfway to meeting that target when the 149 units currently under construction are complete. These latest units, across three blocks, with completion dates ranging from May to November 2027, will be predominantly two-bed apartments, with 150 one-bed units, and the tenure will be cost-rental (c25% below local market value). Approved housing body Respond will own and operate the apartments. The proposed 556-unit development features extensive green amenity areas for future residents, the highlight of which is a 32,000 sq. ft central park. A planned garden area to the north-east of the site will incorporate a preserved wine cellar, the last physical remains of the historic Lakeland House which once occupied this site. Each of four residential blocks will also have its own landscaped courtyard space. The latest planning application from Hibernian Star Ltd, part of a masterplan for the Mahon peninsula, comes in the wake of a change last July of guidelines governing apartment building. An application for 489 units was declined by An Bord Pleanála a year ago, but the new guidelines are less restrictive in terms of dwelling mix. The Examiner, 23rd January
Carrick On Shannon, Co. Leitrim Planning permission has been approved for the development of a new 72 room hostel in Townspark. The planning permission was submitted to Leitrim County Council (“LCC”) by Goldpine Partnership in July 2025 to construct a hostel at Flynn’s Field, Townspark, Carrick on Shannon. The application sought permission for the construction of a three-storey mixed-use building comprising a 72-room tourist hostel with associated facilities. LCC has approved the application, subject to 24 conditions. There are also plans for three ground floor retail units with maintained pedestrian access to Bridge Street via a ground-level right of way. The ground floor will accommodate hostel reception, café, staff facilities, admin office, linen store, toilets, service areas including bin and bike storage, and three retail units (55,100 sq. ft) with direct access to the street. The Irish Independent, 20th January
Kimmage, Dublin 12 An Coimisiún Pleanála (“ACP”) has given the green light for 145 apartments in Kimmage, rejecting an appeal by local residents who had raised concerns around flooding, overlooking and flaws in the evaluation of the application. Dublin City Council had originally granted planning permission for the development to a subsidiary of Lioncor Developments, 1 Terenure Land Limited, but a third-party appeal was lodged by the Kimmage Dublin Residents Alliance. This is the third planning application for the site. The apartments, which will be spread across five blocks ranging in height from three to partially-five storeys, now have the go-ahead to be built to the side of the BD Gym in Kimmage. The site was once home to the Carlisle cricket grounds. The apartments will be made up of 70 one-bedroom and 75 two-bedroom units, which are intended to be built to be sold, the applicant said. A creche will be included, as well as 89 car parking spaces and more than 400 bicycle spaces. The Irish Times, 23rd January
Leopardstown, Dublin 18 A hotel and an indoor arena could feature in a new plan for Leopardstown as the State-owned racecourse moves to secure horse racing there into the future. State body Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) last year agreed to sell 17 acres at the Carrickmines end of the South Dublin complex to the Land Development Agency for 850 social and affordable homes. HRI is now beginning consultations with the racing industry, businesses and local groups that will help shape a master plan for the venue in advance of submission of a plan to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council early next year. That could include proposals for a hotel and an arena, along with expansion of the venue to cater for up to 25,000 racegoers from the current maximum of about 20,000. The Irish Times, 22nd January
If you have an article which you would like to have considered for inclusion in our next weekly report, please contact us at info@origincapital.ie