{"id":284531,"date":"2026-01-14T20:45:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/284531\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T20:45:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T20:45:07","slug":"planning-permission-sought-for-249-bed-student-housing-at-site-of-derelict-dublin-pub-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/284531\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning permission sought for 249-bed student housing at site of \u2018derelict\u2019 Dublin pub \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planning permission<\/a> is being sought for a six-storey, 249-bed student housing development at the \u201cderelict\u201d Matt\u2019s of Cabra pub site on Fassaugh Avenue, according to newly filed planning documents.<\/p>\n

The purpose-built student accommodation<\/a> development will include 249 student bed spaces which, if granted, will be arranged into 32 groupings of between four and 10-bedroom blocks which will share living and cooking areas. Ten studio units will also be included.<\/p>\n

The development will be spread across two blocks of housing, which will range in height up to a maximum of six storeys. In addition to bedrooms, the development is expected to deliver a student lounge area, laundry facilities, a postal room as well as kitchen and eating facilities. <\/p>\n

Outside of the college term, the development will hope to be used as short-term tourist and visitor accommodation.<\/p>\n

The site was previously subject to a long running planning saga in which Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> leader, Mary Lou McDonald<\/a> TD had objected to plans by the same developer for a 117-unit build-to-rent apartment scheme. The pub was described as \u201cderelict\u201d in the current planning application.<\/p>\n

The plans were refused by then An Bord Plean\u00e1la in 2022 and followed two successful applications for student accommodation on the site in 2016 and 2017. The site was previously up for sale for \u20ac6 million in 2018.<\/p>\n

The developers identified the site as a \u201csignificant opportunity\u201d to provide students accommodation near third-level institutions and could help to \u201cmeet the severe deficit in Dublin currently\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an ever growing and increasing demand for student accommodation and the private rental market is currently suffering as a result of the demands that are on it,\u201d the developer\u2019s agents, planning consultants Brock McClure said, noting the development would help alleviate some of this demand.<\/p>\n

R&D Developments Ltd is the applicant company, with the application noting it is undergoing a receivership by Grant Thornton.<\/p>\n

The former Matt\u2019s of Cabra public house, which has been vacant since 2016, was the site of the murder of gang leader Eamon Dunne in 2010. The pub building and its associated structures are \u201cbuildings of no architectural merit\u201d and set to be demolished as part of the plans. At the time of the shooting, the pub was called Faussagh House.<\/p>\n

The planners identified that the site in question was within 5km of 36 different third level campuses in Dublin city and is connected to a series of public transport links as well as \u201cin proximity to the proposed Dublin Metrolink\u201d.<\/p>\n

The development, the applicants said, would play into national planning frameworks by \u201cproviding purpose-built student accommodation in a location that is well-positioned to serve both the needs of students and the broader community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy offering dedicated housing for students, this development will reduce the strain on the housing market, thereby easing demand in the surrounding area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The developers met with Dublin City Council in advance of submitting the planning permission in line with the large-scale residential development process. Among other concerns, the authority raised concerns of overlooking over surrounding homes. <\/p>\n

R&D Developments stated the design had been made with \u201cwith careful consideration of view lines to avoid undue impacts on the amenity of adjoining properties along the eastern boundary\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Planning permission is being sought for a six-storey, 249-bed student housing development at the \u201cderelict\u201d Matt\u2019s of Cabra…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,52,784,18,19,17,16594,4852,3525,47,21680],"class_list":{"0":"post-284531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-dublin","10":"tag-dublin-city-council","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-mary-lou-mcdonald","15":"tag-metrolink","16":"tag-planning-permission","17":"tag-sinn-fein","18":"tag-student-accommodation"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115895410595541863","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}