Yet another sign of modern times in the capital.
One of Dublin’s iconic smoking areas is being closed to make room for – you guessed it – more hotel rooms.
The smoking area behind Fibber Magees, The Living Room, and Murray’s are all to be shut down for the foreseeable future to facilitate an extension to the Holiday Inn Express on O’Connell Street.
The extension will be six stories high, adding an extra 97 rooms to the hotel for an overall total of 303 rooms.
The plans were first submitted in February, with Dublin City Council approving the move in the first week of June.
Nine complaints were submitted in relation to the motion, including concerns raised from Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan.
Fibber Magees is well renowned as an alternative music venue since opening in 1979, hosting bands such as U2, Thin Lizzy, Machine Head, Biohazard, Agnostic Front, Madball and Every Time I Die.
While the work is set to go ahead, those opposed to the move can make an objection to An Bord Pleanála.
More and more hotel rooms are set to be built in the capital, with a new hotel and rooftop bar set to be built on O’Connell Street in the centre of the Clery Quarters.
The completed redevelopment of Clerys Quarter will comprise of around 90,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, a new 213-bed four-star hotel and a panoramic rooftop restaurant, which will house the latest venue from PressUp Group.
Once complete, the quarter is expected to create around 400 new jobs in addition to the 750 construction jobs it is supporting during the works.
“The refurbishment of the former Clerys department store will transform this area of the city into one of Dublin’s premier destinations and is a fantastic case study for the repurposing of pure retail assets for the future,” Partner and Fund Manager at Europa Capital Jason Oram said.
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