33 Church Sites, One Request: Dublin’s Archdiocese Asks the Council to Leave the Door Open to Housing

• Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese asked the city to rezone 33 church sites
• A 130-page submission said many sites are in disadvantaged areas
• Church-owned schools were also included in the request
• The archdiocese said only one site had any planned change of use

The Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin asked Dublin City Council to change the zoning on dozens of its church sites so that homes could one day be built on them, The Irish Times reported in February 2022.

In a 130-page submission on the city’s draft development plan, the archdiocese listed 33 churches, along with church-owned schools, where it wanted rules loosened to allow residential development. The sites included churches in Artane, Ballymun, Beaumont, Cabra, Griffith Avenue, Drimnagh, the Navan Road, Raheny, Walkinstown, Terenure, Harrington Street, Church Street and James’ Street.

The submission was prepared by planning consultants Brock McClure, who argued that housing need should take priority. “Many of the subject sites are located in disadvantaged areas where the delivery of housing is taking priority over additional institutional uses,” they wrote. Legal advisers Mason Hayes & Curran warned that the council’s proposed zoning would “make it significantly more difficult to obtain planning permission for residential development” on the sites.

The archdiocese was careful to say that it was not about to close churches. Íde Finnegan, its head of operations, told the newspaper: “There are no plans for any change of use, other than Finglas West.” The request was about keeping options open for the future as congregations change, rather than announcing immediate sales.

Ireland’s housing shortage has put church land under close scrutiny. Religious bodies hold large sites in established neighbourhoods, often near transport and schools, and planners see them as some of the few remaining places where homes can be added without building on greenfields. For a church, rezoning can greatly raise the value of land it may one day need to sell or develop.

Jamaican churches face a version of the same choice. Many own prime lots in towns such as Kingston, Spanish Town and Montego Bay, sometimes with underused halls or old manses. Knowing what a parcel is zoned for, and whether it could legally host housing, is basic stewardship, and the Dublin case shows that churches that plan ahead with professional advice are better placed than those that wait until a building must be sold.

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