Taoiseach: Demolish Kriegel murder house

The Taoiseach wants to see the abandoned building where schoolgirl Ana Kriegel was murdered demolished.

Leo Varadkar said it is very difficult for the entire community to pass the derelict house on the outskirts of Lucan, West Dublin, and believes it should be knocked.

However, Glenwood House, which is owned by the O’Callaghan family known for their chain of hotels, has a protected- structure status.

The two-storey mansion was designed by architect James Gandon, who also designed former taoiseach Charles Haughey’s home, Abbeyville, in Kinsealy, north Dublin.

The farmhouse, built around 1800, has fallen into a state of disrepair in recent years, but cannot be touched due to its special status.

Mr Varadkar has now joined calls from some local councillors to have this status lifted.

He said: “It’s very hard to pass that building without thinking about what happened there.

It’s not, in my view, a building of enormous architectural merit and I would like to see the designation lifted by the council as well and to have that building demolished.

The Taoiseach’s comments come after two 15-year-old boys, convicted of Ana’s murder in Lucan, Co Dublin in May 2018, were sentenced on Tuesday.

Boy A, who was also convicted of aggravated sexual assault, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to life, with a review period after 12 years.

Boy B was sentenced to 15 years’ detention, with a review after eight years.

Local councillor Ted Leddy had also called on the building to be de-listed and destroyed.