Grave Architecture: Mapping Dublin City Council's Derelict and Vacant Sites Registers

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19-21 Connaught Street, Phibsborough, Dublin 7

Exterior of 19-21 Connaught Street, with residents' mural.
Exterior of 19-21 Connaught Street, with residents' mural.
Exterior of 21 Connaught Street against 23 Connaught Street, showing the differences between the derelict and occupied house.
Exterior of 21 Connaught Street against 23 Connaught Street, showing the differences between the derelict and occupied house.



Place name: 19-21 Connaught Street

File number: DS704; DS705

Eircode: Dublin 7

Notes: In March of 2026, Connaught Street residents painted a simple message in black block letters on the timber hoarding outside nos. 19-21: "OWNED AND MANAGED BY DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL." Silhouetted by the Three Castles of the DCC logo, this mural highlights the houses that "have become a symbol of long-running frustration in the area," (Walsh). Residents created the mural to prove that the dereliction sullying the street was a result of the Council, not the community. It also shows the power people have to radically change their built environment in the face of neglect.

Past use: 19-21 Connaught Street were built as residences in the late nineteenth century. Development in Phibsborough during this period was spurred by the Midland Great Western Railway and the North City Flour Mill.

Future use: This site first entered the Derelict Sites Register in 2009 and was removed in 2012. The site's owner intermittently upkept the structure between 2012-2017 but was unable to complete necessary structural repairs in 2018 due to ill health and low finances (McLoughlin). Dublin City Council completed a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the site in 2019 at the cost of €700,000. After DCC's acquisition of the site all repairs ceased, and the houses fell into dereliction. One DCC official stated to the Irish Independent that the houses "should never have been purchased in the first instance," (Coates). In 2023, planning permission was granted to demolish the houses but retain the facades. But as the price for this construction was estimated by the Council to cost €1.7 million, these plans were cancelled; leaving the site in stasis (Walsh).

Architectural significance: 19-21 Connaught Street are an example of the distinctive Victorian red-brick two-storey terraced houses found throughout Phibsborough, Glasnevin, Cabra, and Stoneybatter. The houses on Connaught Street are decorated with a stepped yellow-brick cornice that forms a continuous line from the start to the end of the street.

Works cited:
Coates, Liam. 'Council Admits It "Never Should Have Purchased" Ill-Fated Derelict Connaught Street Houses.' Irish Independent, 22 Apr. 2026, https://www.independent.ie/regionals/dublin/dublin-news/council-admits-it-never-should-have-purchased-ill-fated-derelict-connaught-street-houses/a76450551.html.

Department of Planning and Development, Dublin City Council. Phibsborough Centre Architectural Conservation Area Report. Character Appraisal and Policy Framework. 5 Oct. 2015, https://www.dublincity.ie/sites/default/files/media/file-uploads/2018-05/20_Phibsborough_Centre__ACA_Adopted_05.10.15.pdf.

McLoughlin, Colm. Inspector's Report ABP-303277-18. 12 Mar. 2019, https://www.pleanala.ie/anbordpleanala/media/abp/cases/reports/303/r303277.pdf?r=327575901509.

Walsh, Andrew. 'Phibsborough Residents Got Their Paintbrushes to Spell out a Message about These Derelict Homes.' The Journal, 13 Mar. 2026, https://www.thejournal.ie/phibsborough-derelict-homes-6984183-Mar2026/.