A GAA club based in southern Dublin is expending €1 million to acquire playing fields in an in-demand city area. If these fields were earmarked for residential use, their worth would be conservatively pegged at €10.5 million.
Geraldines P Moran’s, with a membership of just 850, is purchasing the five-acre Cornelscourt plot next to Dunnes Stores. The plot is being sold by the Dublin diocese, who last year decided to sell the site which is in need of upgrading.
In recent years, Dunnes Stores has shown interest in buying the site which faces the N11, for store expansion purposes. Another nearby site owned by the retailer fetched €32 million when sold to developers in 2018. This represents a price of €25.4 million per acre.
The decision to sell was justified by Foxrock Parish, who manage the land for a diocesan trust, as the “most practical and optimum solution” to maintain the fields as community sports grounds for another 999 years.
The local minis rugby club, St Brigid’s RFC, has used the ground in tandem with other local primary schools for several years. Nonetheless, the rugby club has contested the sale, pointing out that their future use of the field would be dependent on the GAA club’s approval. Despite this, the rugby club was assured that the sale to the GAA would not go ahead without their approval.
The rugby club has further expressed objections to a letter sent by the parish on behalf of the diocesan trust, requesting that they accept they have “no claim to any right or interest” in the fields. A covenant between the parish and the GAA club enables both parties to “agree to allow the continued use of the site by sports clubs and other users as before”. Nevertheless, the rugby club claims that individual documentation in the contract changes some aspects of the current playing field access.
The members of the GAA club were informed of the price prior to a special general meeting set to take place later in the month.