Planning granted for 1,025 homes beside Cu Chulainn's Castle in Dundalk
Louth County Council has granted planning permission for 1,025 homes on lands beside Cú Chulainn's Castle in Dundalk
Louth County Council has given the go ahead for a Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) or 1,058 homes on lands beside Cú Chulainn's Castle in Dundalk.
Grandspect Limited had applied for planning permission for a development comprising 1,058 dwellings, consisting of 765 houses, 150 duplex units, and 143 apartment units. The 765 houses comprise 10 two-bedroom bungalows; 34 two-bedroom, two-storey houses; 547 three-bedroom, two-storey houses; and 174 four-bedroom, two-storey houses.
The application included plans for a local centre, comprising three retail units, a community/medical unit, and the provision of a stand-alone childcare facility in a two storey building.
Louth County Council granted planning permission on 22 July for a development of 1,025 homes, and subject to 51 planning conditions. Included in the conditions, the local planning authority instructed that two duplex blocks be omitted from the proposed development, “ and these lands instead redesigned and incorporated into the public open space/ Heritage Park area in an appropriate manner”, and an apartment block to be reduced from five-storey to four-storey.
Grandspect Limited, applied to Louth County Council for planning permission in November 2025 for the development at Castletown Road, Dundalk, seeking a 10-year permission at a site of c. 38.89ha (96.1 acres), bounded generally by the Castletown Road/R934 to the north, Mount Avenue and Cú Chulainn’s Castle to the east, Greyacre Road to the west, and existing agricultural lands to the south within the Townlands of Newtownbalregan, Castletown, and Farrandreg, at Mount Avenue, Castletown.
Two new vehicular entrances are proposed to serve the development forming new junctions at Castletown Road/R934 and Mount Avenue respectively.
The development includes plans for a of public open space of c. 5.1Ha (12.6 acres) within the residential development, including provision of a playing pitch; provision of a Heritage Park on the lands surrounding Cú Chulainn’s Castle to the east, and incorporates a Standing Stone, listed in Louth County Council's Record of Protected Structures as a protected structure, RPS ref: LH00700, within the Heritage Park.
Scores of submissions had been lodged objecting to the application, as well as a petition with over 10,000 signatures being sent to Louth County Council, seeking to protect Cú Chulainn’s Castle and the surrounding landscape.
An Taisce also called upon the Minister for Heritage, Christopher O'Sullivan T.D., to immediately grant ‘Special Protection’ status to the Dún Dealgan, Castletown monuments and historic landscape.
One of Ireland’s oldest and largest environmental charities, An Taisce said that as proposed, the buffer zones between the development site and monuments would be inadequate to preserve their setting and character, which would be of detriment to our vulnerable archaeological heritage.
While known locally as Cu Chulainn’s Castle, An Taisce says Dún Dealgan is the popular name of the Motte-and-Bailey located at Castletown to the west/northwest of Dundalk. This Norman fortress would have been the operational base of Bertram III de Verdun.
The evidence indicates that the fortification was built on top of an earlier Gaelic-Irish dwelling-place, probably that of a local chieftain. It was a Norman practice to establish themselves at the base of the former local ruler.
The circular steep-sided mound (the Motte) reaches a height of 10m. It would have had a wooden fort on top. The attached enclosure (the Bailey) was originally augmented by a second larger enclosed area to the east.
In mythology, the location is known as the birthplace of the legendary Cú Chulainn. The epic saga of the Táin Bó Cúailgne has long been associated with the general area (the ancient kingdom of Conaille Muirtheimne). (Dún) ‘Delga’ features in the saga as Cú Chulainn’s abode.
There is a Standing Stone adjacent to the castle site known as ‘Lia Lingadon’ (who tended the cows of Dictoire (Deichtine), the mother of Cú Chulainn). The castellated remains on top of the mound may be of late date, but their presence adds to the visual impression of the site. Folklore colourfully associates the ruins to a pirate named Byrne.
An Taisce says that the proximity of the monuments to the development indicates how vulnerable the historic landscape’s hidden assets would be to a large-scale intrusion, and says that a geophysical survey of the entire area under threat would illuminate this factor.
It said that the excavation of specified individual structures would only benefit the historic landscape if they were subsequently preserved-in-situ. Inversely, their removal could not be deemed as beneficial to the historic environment.
The Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 provides for the protection of these sites. Under this piece of legislation, the Minister is empowered to grant 'Special Protection' to those monuments that qualify on the grounds of 'interest, character, integrity, (and) community or amenity value'.
The monument would be judged on its 'archaeological, architectural, or other historic heritage, taking into account whether the monument is 'of special or particular interest, character, integrity, community or amenity value, whether at a local, national, or international level'.
An Taisce says that, clearly, Dún Dealgan and its environment fits the description perfectly. Therefore it adds, this 'Special Protection' category, as contained in the Act, can provide the monuments under discussion with an enhanced legal status, which can, in turn, be used to safeguard said monuments against any works of a perceived negative nature.
Furthermore, works cannot be carried out within the immediate environs of a monument with 'Special Protection' unless the developer has obtained the relevant licence. In short, according to An Taisce, if you have not been granted the relevant licence by the relevant Minister, you cannot proceed with the works.
It is not yet known if the decision will be appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála.