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

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10-13 Conyngham Road, Dublin 8

Exterior facades of nos. 10-12 Conyngham Road.
Exterior facades of nos. 10-12 Conyngham Road.
Exterior facades of nos. 12 and 13 Conyngham Road.
Exterior facades of nos. 12 and 13 Conyngham Road.
Overgrown and graffitied front door of No. 10.
Overgrown and graffitied front door of No. 10.



Place name: 10-13 Conyngham Road, Dublin 8

File number: DS040

Notes: The facades of nos. 10-12 are Protected Structures under the Planning and Development Act, 2000. The street is included in a Conservation Area in Dublin City Council's 2022-2028 Development Plan (O'Hara).

Past use: Nos. 10-13 were constructed as domestic residences in the mid-nineteenth century. A shopfront or warehouse space was later inserted into the ground floor of no. 13. The structures' construction would have coincided with an increase in sporting and leisure activities at Phoenix Park, which sits opposite the site (Office of Public Works). The three buildings are situated between former soldiers' boarding house Parkgate Hall (1880s) and the Conyngham Road Garage/bus depot (1940s-50s).

Future use: The set of three terraced buildings has been derelict since at least the 1990s. They are owned by CIÉ, who operate the adjacent transport garage. Planning permission to demolish the structures and construct a screen wall around the bus parking lot was sought but refused in 1994. CIÉ and O'Mahony Pike Architects' 'Heuston Masterplan' proposes demolishing no. 10 and replacing it with a pedestrian 'green bridge' across the River Liffey; but this will not be completed until 2038 (subject to planning permission) (Kelly and Fleming).

Architectural significance: Nos. 10-12 are typical Late Georgian two-storey-over-basement stock brick domestic residences with period iron railings. Their historic features have been marred by the installation of billboard advertisements. The houses are situated directly across from the Chesterfield Avenue gates of Phoenix Park and serve "as an important focal point when approaching the entrance/exit to the Park from the west," (Dublin City Council). This prominent position means that a portion of the 10-12 million Park visitors per year are greeted by the stem cell treatment advertisements tacked to the crumbling structures.

Works cited:
Dublin City Council.0016/94. 1 Mar. 1994, https://planning.agileapplications.ie/dublincity/application-details/19798.

Kelly, Olivia, and Rory Fleming. 'Dublin's Vacant Buildings: Sixteen Empty Properties and the Story behind Each One.' The Irish Times, 23 Sept. 2023, https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2023/09/23/dublins-vacant-buildings-sixteen-empty-properties-and-the-story-behind-each-one/.
Office of Public Works. 'History.' Phoenix Park, https://www.phoenixpark.ie/history/. Accessed 3 May 2026.

O'Hara, John. 'Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028.' 2021, https://consult.dublincity.ie/ga/system/files/materials/5522/Map%20E%20Land%20Use%20Zoning%20Map.pdf.