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Dartmouth Square among lots in latest distressed property auction

The land formerly owned by maverick businessman Noel O’Gara will be among the lots at an auction next month.

THE RANELAGH SQUARE owned by controversial businessman Noel O’Gara is to be put to public auction at a sale of distressed property next month.

Dartmouth Square, which has been at the centre of controversies since 2005, is among 109 lots to be sold at an Allsop Space auction on December 4 – just one day before the Budget.

The property is currently owned by Marble and Granite Tiles Ltd, a company owned by Noel and Naramon O’Gara, which was put into liquidation last year. It is being sold by the liquidator, Tom Murray of Friel Stafford Corporate Recovery.

A reserve price of €140,000 has been put on the two-acre site.

It emerged in 2005 that O’Gara – who regularly runs for public office on a platform of property rights – had bought the freehold on the square from a descendant of its builders, who had arranged a sale to Dublin City Council but who had never actually received his payment for the land.

O’Gara later tried to run the square as a car park and then to run a tile sales business from the area, before then running it as a camp site, but ran into objections from local residents at each occasion.

A deal was later reached – after pressure from then-Green minister John Gormley, who was a TD for the area – for the park to be run as a public amenity, an arrangement which remains in place.

Athlone native O’Gara also claims to own land at in Terenure on which Dublin City Council runs a pay-and-display car park – and in 2010 had begun using a heavy duty bolt-cutters to remove City Council clamps from vehicles parked there without paying the appropriate fee.

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34 Comments
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    Mute Brian Daly
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    Nov 8th 2012, 1:54 PM

    It will be interesting to see what Dublin City Council do now. From what I have read, the land is almost worthless to anybody else other than DCC as it ‘s unlikely to get planning permission for anything other than usage as a park.

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    Mute Edelle Collins
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    Nov 8th 2012, 3:09 PM

    If the residents had any sense, they’d club together and purchase the site.

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    Mute Mad Dog Digital
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    Nov 8th 2012, 1:56 PM

    Shouldn’t DCC buy it and return it to the people? I know there are probably better things we need to put money into but if they don’t someone will build a McDonalds on this land.

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    Mute Kal Ipers
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    Nov 8th 2012, 2:43 PM

    As pointed out it isn’t a site likely to ever get planning. It is therefore not really worth much.
    I certainly don’t want the council buying it at the inflated price when they could have bought it cheaper at the agreed price.

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    Mute john cleary
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    Nov 8th 2012, 1:53 PM

    Never heard of such a thing as a ‘maverick businessman’ before.
    Such hubris.

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    Mute Cpm
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    Nov 8th 2012, 3:02 PM

    I think it’s used instead of ‘arsehole’

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    Mute Eimear Smith
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    Nov 8th 2012, 4:07 PM

    @Cpm lmao 

    40
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    Mute Jonny Baxter
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    Nov 8th 2012, 2:55 PM

    Possibly turn it into a an urban farm? Offers the potential to maintain the green element while providing a useful local amenity.

    I was actually just looking at the idea of urban farming yesterday. This is an example of how it works and the positive impact it’s had on the town in question:

    http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/

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    Mute mcgoo
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    Nov 9th 2012, 12:04 AM

    Great idea.

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    Mute HerbyTod IET
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    Nov 9th 2012, 12:46 AM

    Yup…turning it into a community growing space would be fantastic!…our project in todmorden has been running for four years now and is going from strength to strength. we have a number of projects in Northern Ireland following our model, which are also doing well…There are folk in Dublin who would love to run with the idea, if enough of you could get together. Food could be grown on it to supply a local food bank as well as providing a ‘dig your own’ service to folk fed up with supermarkets or wanting to reduce carbon footprints by promoting local food…go on…what are you waiting for!

    We didn’t wait for permission..we just started planting where-ever we could find spare space…at the train station, outside the college, in the grounds of the police station, in the grounds of our local health centre…then we were ‘loaned’ some land and on it now we have a market garden training centre with funding for two paid jobs and are all set to take on apprentices…our motto…’if you eat you’re in’….

    ….there are another 30 incredible edible projects around the UK now…about 50 in France, some in USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Ghana, Romania……

    Dublin could be the next big place!

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    Mute Paul C
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    Nov 8th 2012, 3:40 PM

    There’s enough green space in Dublin. Fill both plains with concrete and put in a couple of high-rise Apartments. Call it something grandiose like “Canal Ridge Forrest” and market it as “Ultra-luxurious Dublin living”. Fill the catalogue with models lying on kitchen tables wearing satin dresses illuminated by candlelight.
    Throw a price tag of around 250k for a 1 bedroom and bob’s your uncle.

    48
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    Mute john dilllon
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    Nov 8th 2012, 4:25 PM

    Ill take 2 of them ..email me the plans and contract and ill sign straight away and return asap

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 3:13 PM

    I can’t believe anyone could be allowed to buy it and turn it into something other then a public park. It’s a little piece of heaven.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Nov 8th 2012, 4:53 PM

    So you’d be happy for someone to buy it as long as they don’t do anything with it?

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:07 PM

    Damocles, have you seen this place? It’s a gem of a green space! Google it and look for yourself.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:20 PM

    Yes, it’s lovely. But who would buy something from which they could make no money? There’s a recession on, where’s the profit motive?

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:23 PM

    Ok, maybe I should rephrase my original remark. It’s a green space that I don’t understand how it could be sold in the first place.

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    Mute Damocles
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:30 PM

    You seem to be suggesting that this privately held land should just be given up and allowed to bypass the whole capitalist profit motive altogether because it’s “nice”.

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:35 PM

    Damocles, I remember it as a nice small park for people to enjoy in a city. Maybe we should develop merrion square, Stephens green, the Phoenix park?!
    What do you propose ?

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    Mute Damocles
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:38 PM

    I’m tempted to propose you join a commune.

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 5:47 PM

    Damocles, you have misjudged me! So I will just say f*** you now!

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    Mute Damocles
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    Nov 8th 2012, 6:24 PM

    No need for that now. Seriously though I think the residents should get together and buy it

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    Mute Declan Noonan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 7:23 PM

    I apologize then. I like cities but I also like green spaces. There can be both.

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    Mute Marko Burns
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    Nov 8th 2012, 2:26 PM

    DisneyLand Dartmouth here we come…..

    40
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    Mute Johnner!
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    Nov 8th 2012, 2:52 PM

    The guy Noel was made out to be a loon by TD’s years ago, for predicting a catastrophic end to the “Celtic Tiger”

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    Mute Cpm
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    Nov 8th 2012, 3:09 PM

    Well no, he was made out to be a ‘loon’ because he wanted to open a car park and a tile showroom in a city-centre park – which would put him well and truly in ‘loon’ territory.

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    Mute Ian Stephenson
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    Nov 8th 2012, 2:36 PM

    “Maverick” being a euphemism …. much like ” eccentric “. I’d love to know what else this “maverick” has been up to in his career … apart from flogging tiles ! I’d wager that there is more comedy down that road !

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    Mute Keith Flood
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    Nov 8th 2012, 3:31 PM

    I have met the man a handful of times , he’s no ” loon ” .

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    Mute Garry Fitzgerald
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    Nov 8th 2012, 7:13 PM

    It was bought privately because it could be bought. The idea of converting it into a car park or a tiling business was a form of blackmail to encourage DCC or the residents to purchase the land from him at an inflated price.

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    Mute Faceless Man
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    Nov 8th 2012, 8:10 PM

    He’s nuttier than Squirrel shite

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    Mute Anthony Conlon
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    Nov 8th 2012, 4:19 PM

    I’ll pay a €10er for a 1/14,000th share of it.

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    Mute Paul donovan
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    Nov 8th 2012, 9:28 PM

    Thought property and land prices have dropped with the recession ? He bought it in 2005 for 10k !
    Yipee,Recession must be over. Lets all make our millions again .

    10
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