Citywest restaurateur says protests and hotel changes have 'eroded' her business
Camilla Grey, owner of Lemongrass restaurant on the Citywest Campus in Dublin. 'Our business is down by 65%.' Photo: Moya Nolan
Camilla Grey received the notice to close her business at 6pm on Tuesday. Ninety minutes earlier, a senior garda arrived at her door and asked whether she would co-operate with their preparations for the protest that was expected.
“I told him that there was a big empty car park here and anybody who wanted to use it in order to come into my restaurant could do so,” she says. “Our restaurant has been dealt blow after blow and now I was being told that we should turn people away.”
Grey is the proprietor of the Lemongrass Fusion restaurant in the Golf Hotel, which is located on the Citywest Campus in Saggart, west Dublin. The incident involving an alleged sexual assault of a child near the entrance to the campus set off protests and violence in and around the complex this week.
Grey says once the story of the incident broke, she knew exactly where it would go. Access to the Golf Hotel is through the campus main entrance. Earlier this year, there were other protests at the gate, and the restaurant was shut down. Now this.
She was handed the closure notice which read: “We hereby give you notice that as a security precaution, due to planned protests in the immediate vicinity of the Citywest Campus, it has become necessary to temporarily close the access to the entirety of the Estate (the “Citywest Campus”) effective from 6:30 pm on 21 October 2025 until such time as the gardaí give clearance for re-opening.
"For the avoidance of doubt, during this period, there shall be no access to the Citywest Campus, including but not limited to the Golf Hotel Building and more particularly the Premises.”
She and her colleagues have, over the last five years, seen the business plummet largely because of the change of use of the Golf Hotel and the Campus as a whole, none of which were provided for in either her lease arrangement or the planning status of the hotel.
Last month, she was assaulted in the grounds of the campus by, she claims, a member of the security staff. An Garda Síochána has confirmed it is investigating an incident but added that the complainant didn’t require medical attention.
When Grey opened the business in September 2009, the campus was in a different world. The main complex was primarily used as a hotel and conference centre. The Golf Hotel had been opened in 2002 as an aparthotel, which catered for short-term guests.
To the greatest extent, the throughput at the hotel was tourist and business. On that basis, when the opportunity presented itself, she determined it would be a good location for one of the Lemongrass Fusion outlets she ran.
The normal ups and downs of the catering business persisted until covid hit. The main complex then became a centre for dispensing vaccines, but around this time, Ms Grey also noticed some changes in the Golf Hotel.
She says she noticed that works had been undertaken at the hotel “to turn several rooms into self-contained bedsits” and that “residents were increasingly staying for longer periods,” according to a complaint submitted to South Dublin County Council.
Some of those in situ, the letter of complaint claims, have been there for over two years.
What had started out as a hotel appeared to be changing into something else. The has seen a contract agreement between one of the residents and the owners for a self-contained room rented on a monthly basis.
From around 2002 “displaced persons” were accommodated at the hotel, which now includes a number of international protection applicants. From Ms Grey’s point of view, all these changes have meant that the basis for setting up her business — a throughput of hotel guests inclined to eat out — has been completely eroded.
“These residents are not staying short-term in the Golf Hotel nor are they tourists and therefore our client considers this change of use must constitute a breach of Condition 5 of the Planning Permission,” her complaint to South Dublin County Council (SDCC) reads.
Meanwhile, across the campus in the main hotel, the vast majority of the rooms began to be taken up by international protection applicants.
Then in June of this year, the State bought the main campus from the owner, the property firm Tetrarch, for €148m. The company is run and co-owned by developer Michael McElligott.
Crucially, the State did not buy the Golf Hotel element. Had the State opted to do so, presumably compensation would have had to be paid to the tenant business, Lemongrass Fusion.
The combination of factors has seen a deterioration in Camilla Grey’s relationship with her landlord. “We have sent them over 30 solicitor's letters and very little response from them,” she says.
Earlier this week, through her solicitor, she submitted the planning complaint to SDCC, claiming that the hotel now constitutes an unauthorised development.
“I remained silent up until this point, but my faith in getting any kind of natural justice is being eroded on a daily basis,” she says.
"We started out here under a completely different set-up.”
She says the whole atmosphere has changed on the campus with the requirement for the constant presence of security guards due to current use of the main building. Last month, following an interaction with one of the security guards, she made a complaint to the local gardaí alleging an assault, which is currently being investigated.
A series of questions concerning all the issues raised by Camilla Grey about the Golf Hotel was submitted to Tetrarch. A spokesperson for the company said they would not be making any comment on any aspect of the inquiries.
South Dublin County Council confirmed it has received a planning complaint “on behalf of a local business”. “The planning department will carry out an investigation,” a statement said.
It added that Citywest is availing of a newly created exemption for IPAS centres. However, while the main complex is such a centre, as of now that does not apply to the Golf Hotel element.
“Details of occupancy of the building is a matter for the landowner/operator,” the statement added.
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