Lansdowne Rugby Club seals €7m deal for YMCA’s Dublin 4 cricket grounds

Fears that the YMCA Cricket Club grounds in Sandymount, Dublin 4 are destined for development into high-end housing appear to have been put to rest.

While the 2.6-hectare (6.6-acre) Claremont Road property was widely expected to be sold to a developer involved in the delivery of homes at the upper end of the traditional owner-occupier or private rented markets, The Irish Times has learned that Lansdowne Rugby Club has acquired the grounds with assistance from a high-net-worth individual.

The site will in future be used and maintained for rugby.

Identity of purchaser

While the price secured by the YMCA for the grounds has not been disclosed, it is understood the club paid about €7 million or €3 million less than commercial real estate adviser Savills had been guiding when it offered the property to the market in March 2021.

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A spokesman for Savills declined to comment on the sale of the property or the identity of its purchaser.

The outgoing owner, the YMCA, had operated a gym and sports facility at the Claremont Road site along with several playing pitches, a cricket ground and all-weather hockey pitches for many years. The YMCA Cricket Club had, for its part, been playing at the Dublin 4 grounds for more than a century prior to the sale.

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The Irish Times understands the organisation will vacate the property and use the proceeds from its disposal to fund local community projects and initiatives in other areas of Dublin.

The YMCA’s decision to dispose of the Claremont Road facility had given rise to speculation that its lands would be used for the development of housing.

That view was driven, understandably, by the property’s prime location just two minutes from Sandymount village and its zoning for residential and open space under the terms of the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022. This zoning offered the prospective purchaser the option to pursue the development of a scheme of houses or apartments, or a combination of both — subject to the necessary planning permission.