At the heart of a recent dispute over the acquisition of a million-euro sports area in South Dublin is the GAA club. Its members have largely supported a proposed deal, which promises to see an end to rifts with Foxrock Parish, the Church that owns the land, and a rugby club that had contested the sale. The parish Church and the rugby club have at last decided to address their concerns regarding the deal.
For the last couple of months, Foxrock Parish, selling the worn-out five-acre sports area next to Dunnes Stores in Cornlescourt on behalf of a diocesan trust, had proposed a sale to the local Geraldines P Moran GAA club.
The deal had been that the Church and Geraldines P Moran would allow different groups to maintain their current level of usage of the sports area. However, the club’s commitment to this condition was brought into question by aspects of the agreement-related paperwork.
The sports area had been utilised by the GAA club since the church procured it in 1959. Late in the 1970s or in the early 1980s, it became the home grounds for St Brigid’s Rugby club, and is also used by the local primary schools.
The rugby club and the Church’s solicitors had become more confrontational regarding the proposed sale’s structure and the legality of the deal. This resulted in the Church depriving the rugby club of access to the grounds last week. This occurred as underage players were planning to begin their new season’s training. Neither the Church nor the GAA club offered any response to a succession of inquiries presented by the parish last week.
However, while the rugby club is anxious about restrictions of usage imposed under the GAA’s Rule 5.1, a recent special general meeting of Geraldines, where members overwhelmingly supported the sports area’s purchase, indicates progress. It appears that at last the parish finance council and St Brigid’s RFC have agreed to discuss the proposed sale’s related problems. These discussions finally took place on Wednesday.
Assuming the religious institution can appease the rugby group, the agreement is likely to be concluded by the end of the first week of September, although this schedule might still require an adjustment. For numerous years, Dunnes Stores has shown their inclination to buy this location – estimated modestly at €10.5 million for residential zoning – as they plan to enlarge their notable stores on the primary Dublin-Wexford N11. In 2018, Dunnes disposed of a locally situated plot of similar scale, once viewed as a potential alternative for sports fields, commanding €32 million.