A Dublin developer has applied for planning permission to build 66 apartments on the site of an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Terenure and demolish the existing structure, more than a year after the property was put up for sale with a guide price of €7.5 million.
The Dublin Hebrew Congregation, which owns the roughly 1,156sq m site, confirmed in a statement to The Irish Times on Tuesday evening that it intended to close the synagogue and move to a more “suitably sized facility in the area”. The congregation will remain in the existing synagogue until the end of 2024 while the new facility is being developed.
The property was originally on the market in early 2023 subject to planning permission.
Granbrind Terenure Ltd submitted an application to Dublin City Council on September 20th to demolish the existing synagogue structure and build 66 apartments across three blocks, ranging from three to six storeys over basement. The site is bound by Rathfarnham Road to the west and Greenmount Lawns to the east.
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The directors of Granbrind Terenure, which is registered at an address in Ballycoolin, Dublin 15, are listed as Anthony, Conor, Pearse and Mairtin Lydon. The Lydons are also listed as directors of the Adroit Company, the development firm behind the €63 million Kilternan Woods residential scheme in south Dublin among others.
The application is open for submissions from the public until October 24th.
In a letter of consent to the local authority, members of the congregation said they “fully supported” Granbrind’s application as owners of the property.
The Orthodox Jewish organisation said in October 2023 it had received seven or eight expressions of interest in the Terenure synagogue but had decided to adopt a “wait and see” approach on the future of the building.
In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesman for the congregation said it confirmed its plan to sell the last remaining Orthodox synagogue in Dublin. “It is with a mix of nostalgia and optimism that the Dublin Hebrew Congregation announces the planned closure of our current synagogue and a move to a more suitably sized facility,” the spokesman said.
“This decision comes as our community has evolved over the years, and we find ourselves in need of a space that better fits our current congregation size,” he said.
“As our community has evolved, it has become clear that our current space is too large for our needs. We are excited about the opportunities this new space will provide for fostering closer connections among our members and continuing our traditions in a more fitting environment.”
Congregation president Michael Stein said last year that the congregation was looking at “all options. It has a great past, is in a great location but it is an old building as are those who attend it. Most are 70-plus, with children and grandchildren abroad, while most of the new Jews arriving in Ireland are transient.”
The Terenure synagogue is a distinctive building, designed by Irish architect Wilfred Cantwell and dedicated in 1953.
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