Hotel close to Rock of Cashel committed to controversial extension

Cashel Palace Hotel in Tipperary.

The Cashel Palace Hotel has reiterated its commitment to building a hotel extension close to the site of the Rock of Cashel, despite allowing its current controversial application to lapse.

The move will likely result in another application being submitted by Marymount Assets Limited, which owns the 5-star hotel, having identified an “alternative approach”.

However, it is unclear if the proposed extension will be on the same land which is closely located to the historic site.

The application was for a proposed 28 hotel bedrooms in two one-and-a-half-storey blocks on the southern slopes of the Rock of Cashel.

Tipperary County Council previously refused to back the plans saying it was not satisfied that the proposed development of the 5-star hotel would not “adversely impact” the cultural heritage landscape as well as the Rock of Cashel’s bid for Unesco World Heritage designation.

Tipperary's most famous landmark, The Rock of Cashel.

Acting on behalf of Marymount Assets Limited, planning consultants McCutcheon Halley said the hotel owners have been “actively reviewing alternatives” to facilitate the accommodation and commercial needs of the hotel while supporting the ongoing conservation requirements of the protected structures on site.

In response to a request for further information (RFI) from Tipperary County Council issued in December, which included a request that alternative sites be considered, they said: “Our clients believe they have identified an approach that would better balance community, tourism and commercial needs, whilst taking on board feedback from the current planning process to further enhance our sensitivity to this special location.” 

Though giving “a good deal of consideration to this alternative approach” they said it is not yet a point that would enable a sufficiently comprehensive response to the RFI within the statutory timeline and have decided to let the current application lapse.

Extension submissions

Although allowing the application to lapse, they said they remain committed to the delivery of an extension to the Cashel Palace Hotel.

This is despite backlash from locals and archaeologists due to the development's planned proximity to the landmark site.

More than 60 submissions were made to the council about the application, with locals concerned about the impact on views of the site as well as its bid for UNESCO status.

The planning application follows a previous bid in 2021 for a similar project which was subsequently withdrawn due to a significant number of objections from locals.

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The hotel, which has some 260 staff, said it has had an extremely busy summer adding that the hotel and region have an “urgent requirement” for additional high-quality accommodation.

In July 2022, the Rock of Cashel was among three Irish applications to be included in the new World Heritage Tentative List for Ireland, along with the Valentia Island transatlantic cable and the Passage Tomb landscape in Sligo.

Archaeologist Dr Patrick Gleeson who has conducted extensive research on the Rock of Cashel previously told the Irish Examiner that the proposed development would be “detrimental” to the site’s bid for World Heritage status as well as impacting historical remains in the area.

“To put this in context, this is equivalent to proposing a development adjacent to Ráith na Ríg at the Hill of Tara or mere metres from the great mound at Newgrange. the drastic effects that such a development would have on the integrity of these respective overall complexes and their landscape settings should be readily apparent,” he said.

Cathaoirleach for Tipperary/Cahir/Cashel Municipal District Declan Burgess said there were “real concerns” raised during the planning process, which he believes have now been heard by the developer.

“I’m positive there’s other areas that can be explored to provide the much-needed beds in Cashel. However, I am of the opinion our heritage must be at the heart of decisions at all times,” he said.