Local properties sold at auction

10 Yorke Street

Three local properties sold at yesterday’s Allsop auction in the RDS in Dublin.

First under the hammer was 10 Yorke Street, a mid-terraced property set up as two one bed apartments, which sold for €51,000, more than double its €25,000 reserve.

An abandoned three bed end of terrace house at 41 Doolargy Avenue in Muirhevnamor also sold for €37,500, again well above its €20,000 reserve.

Finally 0.91 acres of land at Edentubber in Ravensdale sold for €17,000, just over its €15,000 reserve.

Number 61 Oaklawns was also due to be sold on the day but was withdrawn prior to auction.

41 Doolargy Avenue

Williamson’s Mall in Dundalk to be sold at auction

Williamson’s Mall in Dundalk will be sold at auction later this month for a reserve price of between €670,000 and €730,000.

The retail units, which front onto Francis Street and the Ramparts, will go under the hammer at the Allsop auction in the RDS on April 21^st and will also include the sale of 23 and 8 Francis Street.

The property is arranged across two land holdings, the first main holding is Williamson’s Mall, which comprises a series of retail buildings arranged over ground and part first floors together with a surface car park

The initial retail frontage leads on to a series of warehouse units surrounding the perimeter of the car park. The units have been configured to provide retail accommodation. Incorporated within the built area is 8 Francis Street which provides 10 derelict flats.

The overall site benefits from approximately 27m of frontage to Francis Street together with a further approximate 73m of frontage to Ramparts Lane.

Williamson’s Mall

The second holding comprises a retail building (23 Francis Street) arranged over ground and first floors, situated to the northern side of the road directly opposite to Williamson’s Mall. The total site area is approximately 0.66 hectares (1.64 acres) with the selling agents reporting that the Mall is currently generating €152,000 a year from 20 of its 24 retail units.

Conditional planning permission is also in place until December 2019 for the construction of a mixed use development on the site, known as Cathedral Walk. This was to comprise of two buildings, ranging in height from two to six storeys with a new pedestrian link and civic plaza connecting from the Ramparts Road via the pedestrian link to Francis Street.

Cathedral Walk was envisaged by Mall owners Ampezzano Ltd (now in receivership) as having retail, office and residential accommodation. They also proposed to reopen the Ramparts River over the length of the Ramparts Road fronting the development, with pedestrian and vehicular bridges across the river.

The development was to include a multi storey car park, valet area, service yard, retail units, cafe/bars, hot food take away, off license, amusement arcade, taxi/hackney office, bookmakers, offices, financial / professional services, restaurants and 43 apartments.

Meanwhile the Francis Street portion of the development was to be a five storey retail and office building with c.3,500 sq ft of retail space at ground and first floor level, with c.10,000sq ft of office space above.

The original plan was seen as important in linking the Marshes Shopping Centre with the rest of the town but a lack of funding meant that the project never proceeded beyond the planning stages.

Other local properties set to under the hammer at this month’s Allsop auction include a three bed terraced house in Doolargy Avenue (reserve €20,000), a two bed terraced house in Yorke Street (reserve €30,000) and land at Edentubber, Ravensdale (reserve €15,000). Two four bed homes at Riverview Crescent, Castlebellingham, will also be sold for reserves of between €125,000 and €130,000.

An artist’s impression of Cathedral Walk

€1.4m to be spent upgrading roads and footpaths in Dundalk

Part of the N53 at Barronstown which is to be upgraded

A number of the town’s footpaths will be upgraded and repaired as part of proposals by the Dundalk Municipal District for its roads work programme for 2015.

In total 26 different projects have been earmarked for completion this year including road surfacing, restoration, strengthening and footpath repairs.

The total cost of the work would be just over €1.4 million, with a further €1 million earmarked for a 1.3km stretch of the N53 Dundalk to Castleblayney Road near Hackballscross and Rassan on the Barronstown to Hackballscross route. This will be realigned to improve safety, similar to the work that was previously carried out near Fintan Callan’s pub. A further €224,000 has also been allocated to the Barronstown to Newtownbalregan stretch of the same road.

Amongst the footpaths earmarked for repair include the Mill Road to Castletown Cottages, Beechmount Drive, the Castletown Road and Park Street.

The most expensive job at €185,000 is road repairs to a 1km stretch of the Inner Relief Road in Dundalk, followed by a 500 metre stretch at the Bush, which will cost €112,500.

A further €100,000 will also go towards repairs on the Castletown Road.

Other areas earmarked for an upgrade include Maghereagh Cross to Belrobin, Mullabohy Cross to Knockbridge, Rathcor, Grange, Roche Cross to Killin Cross, Dunmahon Cross to the Fane River, the Rock Road in Blackrock, Edentubber, Tullaghomeath, Crossalaney, Legion Avenue and Culhane Street junction, Park Villas and Chapel Street.

The projects will be able to proceed subject to approval.

In total €2.21m has been allocated to Louth’s roads for the coming year by the National Roads Authority. A further €600,000 will be spent on road improvements at Blakestown Cross on the main Dublin-Derry route on the N52, while work will also take place on the Ardee by-pass.

Edentubber Commemoration to take place this Sunday

The annual Edentubber Commemoration will take place this Sunday afternoon, with assembly taking place at 12.15pm at the Carrickdale Hotel.

The event on the Armagh/Louth border remembers five Republicans who were killed during the 1956-62 IRA border campaign when a landmine exploded prematurely in 1957.

The five who died at Edentubber, a few hundred yards from the border crossing at Carrickarnon, and since known as the Edentubber Martyrs, included the owner of the cottage, 54-year-old Michael Watters; Paul Smith, 19-years-old, who was born and lived at the Gardens, Bessbrook; Oliver Craven, from Dominic Street, Newry; and Patrick Parle and George Keegan of Wexford.

Locals named on Revenue Defaulters’ list

A number of local businesses and individuals were named on the Revenue Commissioners’ latest defaulters’ list, which was released yesterday.

The biggest settlement was made by Optimum Results Ltd, a training and consultancy service providers with an address at The Business Centre, Blackthorn Business Park, Coes Road, Dundalk.

They paid €84,110 in tax interest and penalties for Underdeclaration of VAT and Corporation Tax following a Revenue Audit Case.

Meanwhile, electrical contractors Broadpark Enterprises Ltd, with an address at Edentubber, Ravensdale, Dundalk made a settlement of €34,625.28 for Underdeclaration of Relevant Contract Tax.

Solicitor Frank McArdle of 10 Roden Place, Dundalk, was fined €5,500 on four charges of failing to lodge income tax returns.

Electrician Eugene Prendergast of Millpark, Knockbridge was also fined €5,000 on one charge of failing to lodge income tax returns.

Elsewhere, haulier Andrew Bothwell of Old Grange, Carlingford and landlord, company director and car salesman Mark McNally of 113 Rathmount, Seafield Road, Blackrock were both fined €3,750 on three counts of failure to lodge income tax returns.

Barry Cunningham – a fencing, shed erection and farm worker – of Mooremount, Dunleer was fined €2,500 on two counts of failing to lodge income tax returns while stone mason and artist Sean M Cotter of The Cottage, Edmondstown, Ardee, office equipment salesperson Anthony Roddy of Shrine Cottage, Ballybarrack, Dundalk and farmer and haulier Richard Saul McElwain of Killen, Jenkinstown, Dundalk were all fined €1,250 on one count.

There was also a fine of €2,500 for mechanic Gerard Martin of Knock, Inniskeen, Co Monaghan for misuse of marked mineral oil while fuel retailer Oliver Traynor of Rosskeagh, Kilcurry, Dundalk was fined a similar amount on an oil laundering charge.

Bank official Gary Thornton of Ballinahattin, Doylesfort Road, Dundalk was also given a two-and-a-half year suspended sentence for cigarette smuggling.

Finally, the Kingfisher Restaurant on Dundalk Street, Carlingford were fined €632.50 for failure to hold a current liquor licence. A similar fine was also issued to Chun Yan Wang of The Black Wok in Main Street, Blackrock.

Edentubber commemoration today

The 56th annual Edentubber Commemoration will take place at 2.30pm today, followed by a reception at the Carrickdale Hotel.

The annual commemoration is held each year to remember five Republicans who were killed during the 1957 IRA border campaign.

Three years ago Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams used it as a platform to announce his decision to run in the General Election in Louth.