Publican’s funeral home gets go-ahead
Despite strong objection of nearby funeral directors
ONE of the country’s best-known publicans, Charlie Chawke, has secured permission for a funeral home beside his pub in south Dublin.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Council has given the funeral home the go-ahead – despite opposition from Fanagans Funeral Directors.
Mr Chawke said that he is ‘delighted’ that the council has granted planning permission for the funeral home close to his pub, the Goat Bar and Grill in Goatstown. He said that a funeral home operating from the ground floor of the former Paddy Power unit at the The Goat retail complex ‘would be good for business at The Goat’.
He said: ‘I had this idea going back a while that a funeral home would be good for the business where people coming to a funeral can dine in The Goat after’. Mr Chawke said that ‘there is plenty of room’ for a funeral home at The Goat to serve the area. He said that he was ‘disappointed’ that Fanagans lodged an objection against the planned funeral home at the junction of Lower Kilmacud Road and Taney Road, Goatstown, Dublin 14.
Mr Chawke said that the Chawke Group would not directly operate the funeral home and he intends to lease the space out to a funeral operator. He confirmed that he has had positive discussions with a funeral operator who has expressed an interest in running the funeral home.
Asked about a possible appeal by Fanagans to An Bord Pleanála, Mr Chawke said: ‘Hopefully they leave it as it is and we can get cracking on it.’
The council granted planning permission after concluding that the funeral home ‘would not detract from the amenities of the area and is consistent with the provisions of the current development plan’.
A planning report lodged with the application stated that Mr Chawke ‘believes that a goodquality, well-run funeral home will complement The Goat/ Paddy Power retail complex and he believes that there is a need locally for such a use’.
However, in a strongly worded objection on behalf of Fanagans Funeral Directors, Manahan Planners contended that ‘this application is ill-conceived’.
The objection stated ‘there is no local need for an additional funeral home to cater to this suburb of the city’. It added: ‘A location such as proposed would add surges of traffic to the adjoining road network at this busy traffic light-controlled junction.’
The objection stated that Fanagans ‘operate a funeral home in Dundrum a little more than 1km away from this site’.
Tony Manahan said that the central contention in the application that there is a need locally ‘is flawed and is not supported by empirical evidence’.
Fanagans have been contacted for comment.
‘This application is ill-conceived’