A publican has said he learned from customers that his business might be acquired and demolished as part of the proposed €2 billion Luas Cork project.
Con Dennehy, who runs the Venue Bar in Ballintemple with his partner Kate Tierney, said he thought it was a late April Fool’s prank when he heard Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) had earmarked the bar for demolition as part of its “emerging preferred route” (EPR) for the light rail system.
A 39-page TII document outlines the proposed route for Luas Cork, which would see it running down the Cork Docklands towards Páirc Uí Chaoimh and towards Ballintemple village, where the Venue has operated for more than 100 years.
“The EPR then crosses Blackrock Road and on to Churchyard Lane where a portion of landtake will be required to facilitate the alignment,” it notes. “This includes the acquisition of the Venue Bar, a well-known Ballintemple landmark. It is proposed to reinstate this corner site as part of the works.”
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Mr Dennehy told The Irish Times he was inundated with texts and screenshots of a page from the document on Monday while the proposed route was being officially announced by Taoiseach Michéal Martin and Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien at Cork City Hall.
“I said to Kate ‘Is this April first or what?‘,” he said.
“One of the staff rang then and said ‘When were ye going to tell me the bar is going to be demolished?‘. They thought we knew about it but we knew nothing at all about it. It was the first we heard of it.”
He said he arrived at the bar at 2pm and there was a letter from TII with a brochure and maps outlining the plan.
Mr Dennehy and Ms Tierney have run the Venue for 10 years and the pub is popular with GAA and music fans due to it being a five-minute walk from Páirc Uí Chaoimh and the Docklands site where the Live at the Marquee concerts are held.
He said the planned acquisition of his premises could have serious implications for the business. While he and Ms Tierney have no immediate plans to sell the pub, Mr Dennehy said it could put off potential buyers should they seek to do so in the future.
Mr Dennehy said he had not yet read through the entire consultation document, but the Venue appears to be one of only two or three businesses named and identified for acquisition.
“What I find absolutely amazing about this is that yesterday’s event was the launch of a public consultation process and they don’t see fit to consult or inform people directly affected by their plans. You couldn’t make it up,” he said.
In a statement, TII said Monday’s launch was the start of a consultation period for the EPR and it was committed “to engaging fully with all stakeholders as the project is refined and developed.
“We informed Mr Dennehy at the earliest opportunity about the impact which the proposed scheme would have on his property,” it said. “It is TII’s policy to inform all affected stakeholders at the same time and Mr Dennehy was treated no differently to any of the other affected stakeholders.”
TII said it intended to be fair and transparent and that affected stakeholders should “contact us at their earliest convenience so we can discuss their individual situations”.
