Aviation tycoon Ryan’s privacy a priority in Dublin 2

HIGH-FLYER Declan Ryan snapped up a sixbedroom period home on Harcourt Terrace, in Dublin 2, four years ago — a bargain at only €2.5m.

According to reports at the time, the house was to go for auction at €1.7m but the aviation entrepreneur (and son of Ryanair founder Tony Ryan) stepped in to buy it in a private deal well above the asking price.

It is just one of Ryan’s homes — he also owns an impressive house in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow — but he is nonetheless keen to protect his wily investment, which has been upgraded in recent years.

Ryan, who is busy these days with Irelandia Aviation as it expands in to South America, has clashed with the owners of a neighbouring property — a mews owned by property consultant Tadhg Campion, which has been used as offices for 12 years — on Charlemont Place.

It backs on to Ryan’s home, which is a protected structure.

Last July, Dublin City Council issued a warning about the status of the mews property, with Campion then seeking to “regularise” the planning status of the offices. Permission for retention of change of use was granted last month, but Ryan is not happy about it. In an objection to An Bord Pleanala lodged last week, his planning consultant Marston said the council’s decision was “inherently flawed”.

The submission states that the change to office use would “have a negative impact on the architectural character and setting of our clients’ property”. The property is in the heart of Dublin’s Georgian conservation area. “We respectfully submit that Harcourt Terrace and its environs remain a street of the highest architectural quality, character and setting that is unique within a Dublin context,” states Ryan’s submission.

According to Ryan, there are now eight to 12 people using the offices, and this has a significantly greater impact than if the mews was still being used as a residential property.

It is claimed the mews has unrestricted views into Ryan’s garden.

Indeed the businessman has been required to plant trees to protect his privacy which, as for any tycoon, is a top priority.