One year ago Irish Times journalists visited 20 derelict properties in Dublin.
A year later, all 20 remain derelict but there are signs many will not remain that way.
[ Derelict Dublin: 10 empty southside buildings in a city with a housing crisisOpens in new window ]
NORTHSIDE
19 Abbey Street Upper
RM Block
The decrepit state of this building belies its prime location opposite the Jervis Street Shopping Centre and metres from a Luas stop.
This building has been derelict for almost two decades and a large buddleia plant, a tell-tale sign of dereliction, grows from the upper floor.
Since being highlighted last year in The Irish Times, its Chinese owners have been granted planning permission by Dublin City Council for its redevelopment into aretail and residential space.
They have now put the property on the market with a guide price of €395,000.
60-61 North King Street
This vacant site in Dublin’s north inner city remains as it was when highlighted by The Irish Times last year.
It had been in the possession of Dublin City Council since 1949 when it bought it for a road widening scheme that never happened.
In 2021 the council sold the site for €35,000 to an Isle of Man-registered company, Yellowline Ltd. The council hoped to negotiate with the owners for any apartments built on the site.
Yet, five years later there is no evidence of any activity.
23-28 Parnell Square North
This building remains as it was though its owner, Dublin City Council, told The Irish Times last year that it planned to have a contractor on site by now.
The site of the former Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire will be incorporated into the new 6,100sq m city Library.
A spokesman for the council said: “The procurement of a works contractor is ongoing and the council is targeting commencement of construction this summer.”
11 Lower Ormond Quay
This property is one of the few highlighted by The Irish Times last year where there are visible signs of progress, though it remains derelict.
The bottom floor facing on to the street now has a cabin outside, which usually denotes construction work.
In 2021 the building’s owner, Collen Investments Ltd, was granted planning permission to build eight short-stay studio apartments.
In January this year, Dublin City Council issued a number of conditions to the developer relating to the conservation of the building.
18 Russell Street
This particular property is part of one of the largest areas of urban dereliction in Dublin city centre.
It is one that GAA fans will be familiar with on their way to Croke Park.
Last year Dublin City Council told The Irish Times it had acquired the adjacent properties and was endeavouring to acquire 18 Russell Street.
A year on, that acquisition has not been completed though it is ongoing, according to a council spokeswoman.
148 Parnell Street
The newsagent’s at 148 Parnell Street, which used to be Lucky Duffy’s, remains derelict 13 years after it closed.
There are signs of life though and its ugly graffiti-strewn ground floor is now concealed behind a hoarding.
In 2021 the owners were granted planning permission to extend the building to contain three one-bed self-contained apartments.
In March last year Dublin City Council attached a number of conditions to the development of the building.
22a Berkeley Road
Despite its prime location near the Mater hospital, this exemplar of long-term dereliction remains as it was last year.
It was put up for sale in 2024 for €475,000, but it does not appear to have been sold.
There is no “for sale” sign outside and no sign of any redevelopment.
79/80 Talbot Street
This site in the heart of Talbot Street was once the thriving Guineys department store.
The old Guineys remains much as it was when The Irish Times visited despite planning permission being granted in March last year for a three-storey restaurant/bar development.
The property’s owners, Noel and Clare Tynan, have ambitious plans to transform Talbot Street from one of Dublin’s premier shopping streets into a street focused primarily on hospitality.
118-121 Dorset Street Upper
The only thing that has changed with these three dilapidated buildings in the last year is that they have now been included on the Dublin City Council derelict sites register.
118-120 Dorset Street Upper is now on sale through Robert Colleran property consultants for €1.6 million.
It is being advertised as a “high-profile site”. The sales pitch states that the buildings could be knocked and replaced by a new five-storey development comprising of 44 studio apartments with a ground-floor retail unit, subject to planning permission.
19 Buckingham Street Lower
The vampires in coffins and bat murals on the outside of this derelict house are a nod to the Dublin-born Dracula author Bram Stoker.
The murals are also appropriate as derelict homes are the undead of properties.
A year ago, Dublin City Council was engaging with the owner to try to acquire the property.
A year on the council says it does not have “complete title to this property and are attempting to acquire the remaining interest”.
SOUTHSIDE
No.7 Lower Leeson Street:
This prime property just off St Stephen’s Green is the site of the old Houricans pub.
Numbers 5,6 and 7 Lower Leeson Street were put on the market last year with a price of €1.25 million through the estate agents Lisney.
It was sold to an undisclosed bidder earlier this year, according to James Nugent of Lisney’s. “We expect the new owners to lodge some form of planning application on it shortly,” he said.
City Arts Centre, 1 City Quay
The now decaying building at the junction of Moss Street and City Quay on Dublin’s south quays once hosted a thriving cultural space in the city centre when it was the City Arts Centre.
In July last year Dublin City Council granted planning permission for a 14-storey office block scheme on the site.
The council’s decision has been appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála by An Táisce.
The case was due to have been decided in November, but the commission did not meet that deadline.
112-114 Townsend Street
The site at the corner of Townsend Street and Lombard Street in Dublin’s south inner city is one of the worst examples of urban decay in the city.
It has been the subject of multiple planning applications over the years stretching back to 1999.
The latest is for a seven-storey, 434-bed hostel development which was granted planning permission by Dublin City Council in December.
1-3 Sandwith Street Upper
The two-storey late-Victorian redbrick houses at numbers 1-3 Sandwith Street are part of one of the biggest derelict sites in Dublin.
In 2024 Gold Run Properties, which is owned by the O’Callaghan Hotel group, was given planning permission by Dublin City Council for a development of 82 apartments in total on the site.
The decision was confirmed on appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála in April last year, but these three houses remain derelict.
23-27 Thomas Street
This site is one of many eyesores that tourists pass through from the city centre on their way to the Guinness Storehouse.
This particularly rundown area of the city is due for a complete redevelopment through the Land Development Agency (LDA).
The LDA launched its Pear Tree Crossing plans three years ago and is planning 550 homes.
The site is much as it was when The Irish Times first visited last year and 23-27 Thomas Street has yet to be transferred from the Digital Hub Development Agency to the LDA.
6 College Street
Owner David Doyle of Capital Estate Management is seeking planning permission for a retail unit with an “over the shop” residential apartment for this historic building which was the old Irish Yeast Company building.
Dublin City Council was due to have made a decision by the end of February, but has yet to do so, according to its planning website.
47-49 Kildare Street
Politicians do not have travel far to witness the impact of long-term dereliction in Dublin and how it is tolerated.
The Kildare Street Hotel, just a stone’s throw from Leinster House, remains boarded up and in a decrepit state.
In October 2023, Ternary, a company owned by Larry Goodman and his family, was given planning permission by Dublin City Council for the redevelopment of the hotel and the site next door at 1 Nassau Street.
Yet the Kildare Street Hotel remains boarded up and derelict as it was last year.
25 Aungier Street
This property at 25 Aungier Street remains derelict even while building works to complete the hotel development next door are ongoing.
Dublin City Council said it is on its buildings-at-risk register and it is up to the owner, John Winston, to carry out the remedial works.
The council does not have any plans to compulsorily purchase the property. Winston did not respond to a request for comment.
72-74 Old Kilmainham
With the opening of the new national children’s hospital, the site of the old Carrigan’s pub has become a prime location.
It is situated just 150m from the entrance to the hospital.
There is already planning permission on the site for a 62-unit co-living scheme zoned Z1 dating back to 2020.
The property, with the extant planning permission, was put on the market last year by Lisney and is now sale agreed, according to a sign outside.
5 Walworth Street
Number 5 Walworth Street is next door to the Irish Jewish Museum in Dublin’s Portobello. The museum was opened in 1985 by Irish-born Chaim Herzog, the first president of Israel.
Dublin City Council has now granted planning permission for the extension of the museum at numbers 3 and 4 to include 5 Walworth Road.
