Daft Property - Irish Property News

If you can't sell, swap: how the rich do it... A Dublin property developer has acquired the Canadian embassy residence on nine acres opposite Bono's house in Killiney in exchange for a D6 home - and €3m THE CANADIAN government has swapped its Killiney embassy residence for a lavishly renovated house in Ranelagh, plus cash, in a deal with property developer Michael Roden. A foreign affairs spokesperson in Ottawa confirmed that Mr Roden had paid around 4.8 million Canadian dollars (€3.01m) in cash and given a detached house on Oakley Road in Ranelagh in exchange for the Canadians' nine-acre property on Strathmore Road, Killiney. He plans to renovate the sprawling 1860s house which lies across the road from Bono's Vico Road home. Strathmore has been owned by the Canadian government since 1957 when it bought it for £20,300. Last year they put it on the market at €17 million and moved new ambassador Pat Binns into an apartment in the Four Seasons Hotel in Ballsbridge. The sa

Celtic Tiger eatery closes its doors as downturn really bites... Now facing closure, Cooke's Cafe has long been one of the favourite eateries of the cashed-up chattering classes in Dublin. But the award-winning venue -- which counts celebs like U2 among its customers -- has this evening been served up as the industry's first high-profile casualty of Ireland's credit crunch. A spokesperson for the eatery, situated on the corner of South William Street and Castle Market, has confirmed to the Herald that they will cease trading at the end of this month. "It's true, we're closing up," he said. Shock In news that has sent shock waves through the tight-knit circle of Dublin restaurateurs and chefs, Cooke's will close its doors in two weeks. It's understood that the lease has now been bought by Abrakebabra owner Graham Beere, who has indicated he may turn it into a sushi restaurant or use the venue to extend his chain of Gourmet Burger Kitchen. As proof t

"Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change 1970-2000" is a book, by Roy Foster, that looks at the development of the Celtic Tiger... "Cuddling Up With the Celtic Tiger" ...is a report by Adam Kirsch, on the New York Sun, which gives an interesting American 'take' on "Luck and the Irish: A Brief History of Change"... "When you consider how large a place Ireland occupies in" the Americian "cultural imagination, it's astonishing to realize how small a country it really is. Its current population is slightly more than 4 million; more people live in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens than in all 26 counties of the Republic of Ireland. If the island seems to loom like a continent, the reason is, first of all, the Irish emigration that did so much to shape America in the 19th century. According to the Census Bureau, some 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, more than any other nationality except German. But you don't ha

Plan to redevelop Clarence Hotel approved... An ambitious plan to redevelop the Clarence Hotel on Dublin’s Wellington Quay has been approved by An Bord Pleanála. The scheme, devised by architect Norman Fosteer, involves demolishing the hotel and adjoining buildings on the quay, retaining their façades and constructing a much larger hotel arranged around a dramatic atrium and topped by a flying saucer-style roof . The owners of the hotel, who include U2's Bono and the Edge , welcomed the Bord’s decision in a statement this afternoon. “We are delighted that An Bord Pleanala has given us the green light for Norman Foster's design for The Clarence. …We believe it's great news for Dublin and for Temple Bar in particular, where we've been working for over 20 years and where a hotel has been trading on The Clarence site for 177 years," it said. The Department of the Environment, Local Government and Heritage had objected to the scheme, saying it could set a precedent for

With Dublin now suffering from major urban sprawl many developers are proposing building higher buildings. This makes sense but should have been started years ago before most of the greenbelt around the city was converted in bland, soulless housing estates. The U2 Tower, is a proposed landmark skyscraper, due to be constructed in Dublin (so called because of the involvement of U2 the rock band): The U2 Tower will be built in the South Docklands at the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay by a unique meeting point of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design was announced on October 12 2007 is by Foster and Partners (some of their other projects include Greystones New Quarter in Ireland, Millennium Bridge in London, Millau Viaduct Bridge in France to mention but a few.) The proposed Tower will consist of luxury apartments, with a public viewing platform at 100m, just below an egg-shaped pod that will be U2's recording studio. Above this i