Welcome to Kenilworth Square

Protect Kenilworth Square is an initiative by residents of Kenilworth Square and the wider Dublin 6 area. In April 2024, we were deeply shocked to learn of the devastating redevelopment plans for the Square by The Congregation of the Holy Spirit (the Spiritans) who own the parkland of Kenilworth Square.

On 29 July 2024, the Spiritans, who also own St Mary’s College Rathmines, sought authorisation for Exemption from Planning Permission from Dublin City planners for Phase 1 of their Kenilworth Square Redevelopment Plan. This is to replace a grass rugby pitch with a full size (100m x 70m) 4G synthetic pitch and install a 1.2m high fence around it. Astonishingly, exemption from planning permission was granted on 22 August 2024.

We expect they will first construct the ‘Astroturf’ pitch plus Fence and then apply for planning permission for six 18m high floodlights, a 10 room pavilion, a Car Park inside the Square, and much more. This will be Phase 2 of their outrageous full plan for Kenilworth Square.

Who knows what a Phase 3 would entail? The Kenilworth Bowling Club on nearby Grosvenor Square has a synthetic bowling surface and bar facilities. They applied recently for floodlights. The tennis courts beside the bowling club already have floodlights. The once visible Georgian square at Mountpleasant is fully surrounded by monstrously tall, densely-planted conifers. You can no longer enjoy the once beautiful visual amenity. Mountpleasant has also acquired, over time, synthetic playing surfaces, floodlights and a massive clubhouse, complete with a gym and bar facilities. Is this what the future holds for the tranquil, naturally-lit green space that Kenilworth Square currently is?

We must ensure this does not happen to one of Dublin’s finest Victorian squares, which is also a vital green lung amidst a sea of ever-expanding high-rise developments just a short distance away on Harold’s Cross Road.

In their History of St Mary’s, the school states that they bought the leasehold for £1,000 in 1947 from a Mr White, a property developer. He sold them the park, which he had bought from the residents for £500, because he had been refused planning permission for any development. This is ironic in view of St Mary’s College Rathmines current redevelopment plans. They describe the acquisition of the park as ‘a gift from heaven’ and ‘fortuitous.’ Indeed! It is a gift that will keep on giving!

Until now, the park on Kenilworth Square has been used exclusively by St Mary’s College Rathmines for rugby training and matches on some Saturdays, as well as for occasional cricket, annual school sports days, and for their own Boy Scouts group. Residents and the Dublin public lost access to the park in 1999 when the Spiritans erected high railings around it and locked the gates. They had promised to give the residents keys, but never did.

Having already constructed a synthetic floodlit rugby pitch at their school in Rathmines in 2020, which they also ‘make available’ / charge fees for, St Mary’s College Rathmines plans also to ‘make available’ / charge fees for use of the synthetic and future floodlit pitch at Kenilworth Square to GAA and soccer clubs evenings and weekends on a ‘rotational basis’. This amounts to a major change of use and a commercialisation of this historic Victorian square. They stated in their Rathmines pitch redevelopment application that they would not make similar changes at Kenilworth Square. Now they are underway with their plan to create a mini stadium.

Residents and locals value what the Square brings to Dublin and our community – over 155 years of history and heritage, and an environment consisting of three hectares (7.4 acres) of unspoilt parkland, a wide variety of shrubs and mature trees, many dating back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and a wildlife population that includes bats, squirrels, foxes and many bird species.

Many residents of the Square and adjacent streets regularly do circuits of the outside perimeter, walking or jogging, while enjoying, through the railings, the beautiful, tranquil views across the park. All appreciate the biodiversity that thrives inside the gates of Kenilworth Square.

This website is intended to deepen appreciation by the citizens of Dublin of this precious natural resource, a wonderful legacy from the Victorian era.

Kenilworth Square must be protected from the Spiritans / St Mary’s College Rathmines’ wholly inappropriate development plans and proposed commercialisation of Kenilworth Square.