Rathfarnham Castle Stables Project

16th July 2025

Rathfarnham Castle Stables Project Approved – A Win for the Community

I'm delighted to share some fantastic news — the Rathfarnham Castle Stables redevelopment has officially been approved by South Dublin County Council.

This project has been a long time in the making, and it’s been shaped by an incredible level of local engagement. Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the Rathfarnham Castle Residents’ Group, hosting two public meetings and supporting a wide public consultation process. Following our second meeting, 179 formal submissions were made to the Council under the Part 8 planning process — a testament to the strength and unity of our community voice.

What’s Changing – And Why It Matters

Following that engagement, a number of significant updates were made to the project:

Sean Keating Garden Redesign

Concerns about the loss of public space and the memorial nature of the Sean Keating Garden led to direct engagement with the Keating family. SDCC has now committed to working with the community on a new design that includes a public memorial and retains a meaningful green space.

Improved Village Access

€50,000 has been allocated to a permeability project to improve walking and cycling links between the village and the park, helping reconnect the community with this historic site.

Economic Plan for Rathfarnham

The Council is investing €100,000 into a new economic plan to support and revitalise Rathfarnham village which was a key ask from residents concerned about balancing heritage with local vibrancy.

Car Parking + Public Realm

The revised design provides 50 car parking spaces while expanding the usable public space. A new 750 square metre open area will extend from south to north, creating a more welcoming and flexible environment.

The development includes:

• Multi-purpose cultural and community spaces

• Arts and crafts areas

• A café and restaurant operated by the McHugh Group

• Renovation of the historic Seismograph House

• Enhanced landscaping and facilities across all four courtyards

The original Phase 1 budget of €4.5 million has grown to a €12 million masterplan.

A Community Achievement

This is a project the community has helped shape, one that balances heritage, culture, and future potential. It’s thanks to the hundreds of residents who engaged, asked questions, and made submissions that we now have a plan the area can truly get behind.

With approval now granted, the work begins to deliver a space that residents can enjoy and be proud of for generations to come.

11th June 2025

Public Meeting Outcome & Submission Details

We had a fantastic turnout at my public meeting in the Ruah Centre, Rathfarnham on the 10th June with over 160 community members in attendance. Representatives of Rathfarnham Castle Residents' Association gave presentation on South Dublin County Council's current proposals, a background on how we got to this point, and revised proposals that would meet the needs of both the Council and the local community.

Submissions close at 11.59pm on the 20th June. Submissions can be made on the SDCC submissions portal by clicking here.

To view the slide deck from the presentation which includes useful information

for submissions, please click the below link.

Final for Public Meeting 10th June 2025.pdf

Download PDF • 2.89MB

May 2025

Public Meeting

I am facilitating a public meeting on the latest Part 8 proposal for the redevelopment of the Rathfarnham Castle Stables. A presentation on the proposals and counter proposals will be made by a local residents' group.

Location: Ruah Centre Ballyroan Date: Tuesday 10th June 7.30pm

What is proposed

South Dublin County Council has announced that the major regeneration project at the former council depot and stables beside Rathfarnham Castle is now open for consultation.

The proposed development includes the refurbishment and adaptive reuse of existing stable buildings and Cromwell’s Fort to accommodate arts and cultural spaces, retail units, a café/restaurant, public toilets, and event spaces. A new single-storey café/restaurant structure will be built on part of the former depot yard, with associated support facilities and outdoor landscaping. A new car park with 54 spaces (including EV and accessible bays) and bicycle parking is also planned in the adjoining Sean Keating Garden area.

Plans are on public display until June 20th, 2025. Submissions can be made online at consult.sdublincoco.ie or sent in writing to South Dublin County Council. Community input is welcomed as part of the planning process.

To view the South Dublin County Council consultation portal visit https://consult.sdublincoco.ie/en/consultation/castle-stables-and-courtyard-rathfarnham

Tuesday 21st May 2024

The Rathfarnham Castle Resident's Association have prepared a detailed submission to South Dublin County Council will an alternative concept plan for the development of Rathfarnham Castle Stables. Francis Noel Duffy TD, a qualified architect, assisted with preparing the concept drawings (see below) which can also be seen on page 15 of the report.

To view the full report, click on the below link.

Rathfarnham Castle Residents Submission to SDCC 21-05-24.pdf

Download PDF • 1.55MB

Wednesday 1st May

South Dublin County Council has launched its online public consultation process which runs from the 1st May to the 26th May. Launching the process they have stated:

The development of the site will be heavily informed by both the tourism strategy and the county’s development plan. As such, it will be developed in a way that is sustainable, both from a climate and economic perspective. In addition, the space will be developed in a way that is sensitive to its heritage, and which contributes the inclusive development of Rathfarnham village.

This consultation is an opportunity to step back and think about the activities and offerings that the site might accommodate to meet the needs and interests of the community in Rathfarnham, as well as visitors to the area.

Following the consultation, South Dublin County Council will run a series of focus groups to consider the vision for the site in greater detail. The results of this deliberation will feed into the development of site plans.

The online consultation will run from 1st – 26th May and can be accessed online at

https://bit.ly/RathStablesCyard and in hardcopy from Ballyroan Library, Orchardstown Library, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.

Thursday 18th April

The council will be running a series of free public tours of the Castle Stables and Courtyards. The objective of the tours is to give the public an understanding of the history of the site, and a sense of its potential as a public amenity.  A public consultation on the master vision for the site will take place during May.

The tours are fee to attend are scheduled to take place on Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Saturday 27th April. Pre booking is required on Eventbrite by clicking here.

Tuesday 9th April 2024

The council have reported on the method by which the public consultation will take place on the Rathfarnham Castle Stables project. The consultation process will take place in three ways - Inform, Consult and Interrogate & Refine.

A rough timeline has been given but specific dates will be confirmed shortly.

Tuesday 13th February 2024

The Council gave an update at the local area meeting on Tuesday 13th February. The master plan process is now underway and there will be two public information events in March run by the council. Dates and venues are to be confirmed and will be posted here in due course.

While outline plans for the main hospitality building remain at the forefront of the design, no firm plans are yet in place for parking management, the Sean Keating Garden, Seismology House and the old stable buildings. It is intended that the feedback received at the public events will be taken into account by the council as they progress their designs.

There will be a part 8 process held later in the summer where members of the public can submit formal submissions on the proposal, which will be included in the report when the plans come before the full council for approval.

Concept drawing

Tuesday 14th November 2024

The council have confirmed that there will be a full and in depth public consultation process for the Rathfarnham Castle Stables project. I am confident that through this process, the Council will deliver a superb facility for which can be enjoyed by local residents and visitors.

As a project, there are two stages to the process, with the initial preparation of a masterplan for the stable/courtyard buildings, which will provide a high-level proposal that responds to the architectural form, scale, design, and potential uses of the buildings, as well as dealing with matters such as conversation, accessibility, connectivity and car-parking (to name but a few). Once a draft masterplan and an associated public consultation proposal has been prepared, this will be presented to Elected Members. Following this, public consultation on the draft masterplan will take place, which will then inform the second stage of the process, which is the preparation of a Part 8 for the project. The Part 8 will then be subject to a statutory public consultation process, the findings of which will inform a Part 8 report that will be brought before the Council for consideration.

Thursday 26th October 2023 - Parish Centre Willbrook Rd.

A big thank you to everyone who attended and contributed at our public meeting on the proposed redevelopment of Rathfarnham Castle Stables and Courtyards.

We presented the current outline plan for the redevelopment and sought feedback from the residents in attendance. The interaction was superb with some well reasoned and valid viewpoints being made. Concerns and suggestions centred on:

• Possible use of Sean Keating Garden for car parking

• Construction of single tenant building for commercial use

• Issues of security and car parking

• Lack of obvious provision of space for the arts, music, heritage and community

• Bringing back to use the stables in the courtyard

Background

SDCC is planning a €5m investment in the disused stables and yards to create a hospitality, retail, food and lifestyle hub for the community. Below is information and a video of the project update presented to Councillors at the July County Council Meeting.

A number of residents have been in contact in regard to the proposed plans and given the level of interest in the proposed development I will be hosting a public meeting alongside my colleague Fianna Fail Councillor Yvonne Collins in the parish Centre, Willbrook Rd on Thursday 26th October at 7.30pm.

South Dublin County Council intends to develop two of these courtyards as a retail/hospitality and leisure offering and to this end plans to fund, design, and construct a building of architectural merit in north courtyards 1 and 2 to an area up to circa 1,400 sq. metres, complete with outdoor courtyard areas within an overall area of circa 2,700 sq. metres.

The council believes that the project provides an opportunity to develop a mixed-use hospitality/retail/food and/or lifestyle offering extending to circa 2,700 sq. metres. The north courtyards 1 and 2 could facilitate a range of different uses, including food, retail, garden centre, or other lifestyle offerings. These could be accommodated through the design of the new facility that provides scope for different approaches and models of service delivery to suit different business needs accommodating for example a number of food offerings (bakery/coffee/produce/pasta/pizza family area and wine-bar restaurant) ranging in size, with the possibility of external seating in sheltered courtyards directly accessing the adjacent parkland and/or lifestyle items sold at this location.

More information on the Council's proposal can be viewed on the SDCC website here.