Old Nenagh pub to be demolished

A plan to provide houses at the site of a former pub in Nenagh has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.

Tipperary Co Council recently granted conditional planning permission to Margaret Fogarty and Andrew Fogarty for the demolition of derelict buildings and construction of three two-storey terraced dwelling houses at 7 and 8 McDonagh St. The site contains the former Malt House pub.

The pub was named after the brewery that once occupied the area behind the wall of the adjacent lane (now Sheahans Homevalue hardware premises). Malting at the site dates back to the 1700s. While it was discontinued in the nineteenth century, malting was revived in the early 1900s and continued until 1981 when Minch Norton withdrew.

The lane, now called Rossa Place (after nineteenth century MP for Tipperary Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa), was once known as Brewery Lane. There was a pub on the corner from as far back as the 1840s when it was run by Sophia Bannerth and, unsually for the time, had a billiard saloon at the back.

In her book ‘Walkabout Nenagh’ (1994), local historian the late Nancy Murphy recounted how the opposite wall and mouth of the laneway comprised an “informal ball alley”. The pub, then Eamon Ryan's, was a “mecca of darts players”.

The Malt House has been closed for several years. The council planner's report stated that “the existing building has no architectural value in terms of original shopfronts, etc, and on this basis I am satisfied the proposed development will not negatively impact on the Architectural Conservation Area”.

The council's decision to grant planning permission has been appealed by Anna Brislane, owner of an adjoining property, who objected to the application on a number of grounds. Among these, the appellant claimed there was a misleading proposal description and raised concerns over parking, as well as flooding caused by sewerage, amidst other concerns.

An Bord Pleanála is to rule on the case by January 6 next.