Having paid about €16 million in 2018 to secure ownership of the former St Mary’s Carmelite seminary in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, well-known hoteliers Joe and Margaret Scally have abandoned a plan to develop a hotel on the site.
The Scallys, who own the Hayfield Family Collection, which includes the five-star Hayfield Manor Hotel in Cork as well as the Killarney Royal Hotel and the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney, have instead instructed agent Savills to find a buyer for the property. Guiding at a price of €12 million, St Mary’s is expected to see significant interest from a range of parties given its potential for the development of a hotel similar to the one for which the vendors had secured permission, or a residential scheme aimed towards the upper end of the market.
Located within a quiet cul-de-sac on Bloomfield Avenue and immediately adjacent to the Royal Hospital Donnybrook, St Mary’s comprises a four-storey Gothic-revival style building built in 1888 and extended in the 1940s. The property, which served for many years as a college and seminary for the Carmelite Order, extends to 3,305sq m (35,575sq ft) and consists of classrooms, meeting rooms, residential accommodation and a chapel. The building is a protected structure and sits on a 1.25-hectare (3.09-acre) site.
An aerial view of the St Mary’s site shows its location just off Morehampton Road in Donnybrook, Dublin 4
The vendors secured planning permission from the then an bord pleanála in September 2020 (Ref: 3608/19) for the development of a hotel on the site, with a revised scheme approved in April 2024 (Ref: 4792/23). The approval, which has since lapsed, allowed for the construction of a 163-bedroom hotel with basement parking. The plan was to have meant the conversion and extension of the former seminary into a boutique hotel with a spa facility, including indoor and outdoor swimming pools, along with a steel and glass orangery which would include a tea room and outdoor terrace. The planning permission for the development expired in November 2025.
While a new owner might want to take advantage of the site’s positive planning history and submit a new planning application for a hotel, they may alternatively look at its potential for housing. Recognising this, the vendors commissioned a feasibility study in preparation for the site’s sale which suggests it could accommodate a scheme of 109 units.
The St Mary’s site is likely to attract strong interest from developers of homes aimed towards the upper end of Dublin’s residential market. The subject property occupies a prime location just off Morehampton Road and within a short walk of the villages of Donnybrook and Ballsbridge, and Dublin city centre.
John Swarbrigg, of Savills, says: “This property offers a standout opportunity to deliver a landmark residential scheme, subject to planning permission, in one of Dublin’s most sought-after neighbourhoods. While the previous consent has expired, it does set a good precedent for what might be achievable in respect of any revised residential-led scheme.”