In Donabate, a closed pub may soon be revived

On Tuesday morning, a train, bound for Connolly station, barrelled through Donabate without stopping.

It let out a big honk, adding to the roar of cars along Turvey Avenue.

Only once the train disappeared and congestion eased, did a few pedestrians walking into the train station notice that an alarm was going off.

The siren came from Smyths Bridge House, a local pub closed for more than a year. 

Despite the hoardings, the pub was in a decent enough condition. Although, white paint on the main facade was peeling and the colourful lights that once hung above the windows on the first floor, and a nearby tree, lay in a heap.

Behind the pub is Corballis East, a big development of hundreds of homes and more, which is currently being built by Cairn Homes.

Cairn Homes bought the land from Aledo Donabate Ltd last year. They also bought the pub – and, last month, applied to Fingal County Council, seeking, among other changes, permission to carry out works on the building, a protected structure, for it to be kept as a pub and restaurant. 

Labour Councillor Corina Johnston said that the news is welcome – especially given the big development was slowed down by judicial review, revisions to the planning application, and the sale of the lands. “But look, here we are now, almost two years later.”

As part of the first phase of works on the wider project, Cairn Homes is also seeking permission from the council to add more shop space, a civic plaza and a community space – in line with an agreement struck after legal challenge by the community to the project.

Locals have been emphasising the need for more community amenities in Donabate for years now – so are looking for the detail as to what is envisaged.

At the moment, what the proposed community space will entail is vague, says Ann Hogan, the chair of DP Crossroads, a local group that is campaigning for more community facilities in Donabate and Portrane. “We still need to know who will run it, and how that is going to be decided.”

A spokesperson for Cairn declined to comment when asked about how it would handle the managing of the proposed community space, saying they do not comment on live planning applications.

Thrashing it out

In February 2024, Donabate Portrane Community Council said on its website, that the Corballis East landowner, Aledo Donabate Limited was in “advanced negotiations” to buy Smyths.

Then, in August 2024, the owner of Smyths posted on social media that the pub – housed in a protected structure, built around the 1840s – that they were going to close up that month.

It was a major loss when the news got around, says Steven Rice, the vice chair of Donabate Portrane Community Council. “Nobody was happy that it was closed.”

As for the lands behind the building, in November 2022, An Bord Pleanála – now An Coimisiún Pleanála – had granted Aledo Donabate Ltd permission to build 1,365 homes alongside three creche and seven spaces for shops and cafes.

The decision prompted the Donabate-Portrane Community Council to take a judicial review against An Bord Pleanála in January 2023, court documents show.

The density of housing was of concern for the Donabate Portrane Community Council, which wanted this reduced, says Rice. “We were successful in achieving that.”

Following discussions with the developer, it was agreed to trim the development by 300 homes, and Aledo also told the community council that it would include a series of community-gain initiatives, he said.

Those included, according to a statement issued by the community council at the time, the pub refurbishment, more shops, a community fund of €10,000 a year for 10 years, and the use of the community centre for free for 10 years – or a one-off payment of €150,000.

The community council withdrew the judicial review, with the courts officially striking it out that March, court records show.

Aledo was granted permission by Fingal County Council to build 1,020 homes as well as a creche, parks and communal open spaces throughout the Corballis East site in February 2024 – later selling the site on to Cairn Homes. 

Moving along

In its revised planning application on 11 November, Cairn Homes applied to Fingal County Council to amend a few features of the first phase of Aledo’s existing planning permission.

Cairn Homes has asked to change one building meant to comprise of two shops and four two-bed flats into one that consists of four shops, a community space and two four-bedroom apartments instead.

It also applied to provide a new village garden, a civic space with a playground, natural play area, and bike parking.

This would lead to two fewer homes in the first phase – 52, rather than 54 – and more commercial space, the application says.

Smyths would get refurbished with a view to being kept as a pub and restaurant, while a neighbouring coach house and barn would be conserved and turned into a restaurant or cafe, it says.

All of this is welcome given the wait, says Johnston, the Labour councillor. “The pub is progressing.”

But it is a little confusing that the application mentions that the pub would continue as a restaurant, she says. “It’s never been a restaurant. It’s always been a pub.”

The idea that it could be a gastropub is strange, said Hogan, the chair of DP Crossroads. “There’s actually no kitchen in Smyths pub.”

Amending Aledo’s application to include a community space is welcome, Johnston says, given that she and other local councillors have been consistently highlighting the shortage of community facilities, like a dedicated youth and cultural centre, on the peninsula.

But, Johnston says, they need clarity around who would manage this. “Is it Fingal County Council? Is it a private entity? Is it a charity? We don’t know.”

A spokesperson for Cairn Homes said they cannot comment on a live planning application when asked who would manage the space, or if they had received any expressions of interest from groups yet.

What it will eventually be used for isn’t stated either, says Hogan. “We feel there needs to be a lot more clarity around that building.”