Dublin City Council lease Bohemians new space for reduced €1,000 per year rent

Dublin City Council has approved a three-year lease granting Bohemian Football Club temporary use of a vacant former bank for community support purposes at a heavily abated rent, despite some councillors raising governance and due diligence concerns

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 15:14, 06 Oct 2026 View Image Dalymount Park (Image: AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)

Dublin City Council has approved a three-year lease granting Bohemian Football Club the use of a vacant former bank on the North Circular Road.

While market rent has been set at €160,000 per year, Bohemians have been granted an abated rent of €1,000 provided the space be used for community support purposes only at 371-373 North Circular Road. This is a temporary arrangement to allow for meanwhile use of the space as prior plans to turn the space into social housing under the Adaptive Reuse Programme were paused.

The arrangement was largely welcomed at the council’s full October monthly meeting, although some questioned whether it was appropriate to such a significant abatement. Independent Cllr Nial Ring commended the community work that the club did, but said he did not wish to be associated with the arrangement.

Cllr Ring pointed to borrowings of €34 million the council approved last year for the Dalymount Park redevelopment and said renting out a council-owned property in this manner would “set a huge precedent”. He said: “We can’t give rent abatements and rate abatements to local charity shops trying to do some work for the poor of the city, but yet we want to give Bohemian FC a half a million."

This drew support from Independent Cllr Christy Burke who spoke about the financial support Bohemians already get from sponsors like Des Kelly Interiors, DHL Ireland, and Virgin Media. Independent Cllr Malachy Steenson also took issue with giving “the guts of half a million” to “a private company”.

He called for the vacant space to be rented at full market value on the open market and for the money raised to go toward council projects. “The council is continually short of money and looking at ways to raise it, so it doesn’t make sense to give it away,” he said.

These misgivings were largely dismissed by the majority of council members who said Bohemian FC will be giving back to the community as they look after a vacant space while their own office and community space at Dalymount Park is being redeveloped. People Before Profit Cllr Conor Reddy highlighted the club’s history of facilitating hundreds of community groups at their space inside the Phibsborough Tower over the years.

“I can’t get over Steenson’s suggestion that this should go on the open market. It is the open market that has wreaked ruin on this city and left places vacant for years and denied community groups the space and support they need to thrive,” he said.

Independent Cllr Vincent Jackson described the disposals as a “win-win” for all involved. Citing a former bank in Ballyfermot that had laid vacant for the past six years, he said that the space for community use for the next three years will be a net good for the city.

Accusations that nearly half a million euro is being lost were also dismissed by several reps, with Green Party Cllr Feljin Jose stating that report already ensures if the space is not put to community use then the market rent will be applied. Social Democrats Cllr Karl Stanley also stressed “there are no people queuing up to rent this building” and to open the space up for meanwhile use ensures Bohemians can continue to build community wealth and push back against climate change with their initiatives.

The manager’s response also confirmed that Bohemians were the only entity who put a proposal forward to use the space and that their assessment revealed it was unlikely that site could be leased at market rent at this time. They also said that Bohs will be undertaking significant upgrades of the building and that their presence will protect the space from deteriorating while providing security and protecting it from unauthorised occupation.

Fianna Fáil Cllr John Stephens highlighted the importance of Bohemian Football Club to the people of Phibsborough and Cabra and said the council should endeavour to allow them to continue their community work on issues like youth diversion and ecology. “We owe them more than they owe us,” he said.

Overall, this is a debate not about the community contribution of Bohemians but about due diligence and governance according to Independent Cllr Mannix Flynn. He said that he supports meanwhile and community use of council spaces but “we need to be careful and mindful” and called for a report on these concerns to be compiled.

But the majority of councillors were satisfied that the protections needed to ensure the space is appropriately used were already written into the report and the disposal was approved. Social Democrats Cllr Cat O’Driscoll said she believes it is correct to scrutinise arrangements such as this, but that Bohemians have a strong track record of serving the community.

She cited learning bike maintenance at the Spark Skills course and the Kids Bike Library as strong examples of “genuine community gain” that can continue in the new space. “I have great faith they are going to be custodians of this building for the three years we are giving it to them,” she said.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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