Seán Dunne’s first wife buys Goatstown site

Sean Mulryan and Seán Dunne paid a reported €18.1m for Dublin 14 site in 2003

A near-10 acre site in Goatstown, Dublin 14, jointly purchased in 2003 by Ballymore's Sean Mulryan and bankrupt developer Sean Dunne has changed hands.

In 2015 “Around the Block” first reported Dunne’s 50 per cent interest in the site being offered for sale guiding €7.5 million. However, this was subsequent to a family law case taken in 2014 by Dunne’s first wife, Jennifer Coyle, seeking that Dunne’s interest in the site be transferred to her.

It appears that the entire 100 per cent interest in the site has now been registered in Ms Coyle’s name as of June 2018, on foot of an application made to the Land Registry in 2017.

Normally where finance is obtained to acquire a property, an associated charge is registered in relation to the property. However, in this instance, there is no such charge registered, suggesting that Ms Coyle owns the site outright without any debt attaching to it.

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That’s no small feat considering Dunne and Mulryan paid a reported €18.1 million for it at a time when house prices in the locale were lower than current levels, meaning it may be worth more now. Its value could actually be significantly higher due to its close proximity to UCD and the scarcity of sites in upmarket locations such as this.

Student accommodation is one of the most lucrative investment plays in the current market given the sky-high rents per bed achievable if one of the many prolific developers such as Cairn Homes, which are actively pursuing similar developments around Dublin, take a fancy to the site.