Dublin City Council is investigating the circumstances around the demolition of the home belonging to a 1916 leader.
O'Rahilly House at 40 Herbert Park in Ballsbridge was bulldozed early this morning to make way for luxury apartments.
It comes after city councillors voted to list the building as a protected structure last month.
In a statement, Dublin City Council has said, "Dublin City Council is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the demolition of 40 Herbert Park. Once the city council has ascertained the facts, it will take any appropriate action."
The O’Rahilly House in Ballsbridge has been bulldozed, despite city councillors voting for the house to be preserved as a listed building. pic.twitter.com/3tYgPMYr46
— Kim Buckley (@KiiimBuckley) September 29, 2020
"It's really disappointing. It's a green light for developers to come in and knock our heritage and historical sites," says Sinn Fein TD Chris Andrews.
"Particularly in the light of the fact the council had started the process to list it as a preserved building - so there's question marks over the legality of it and that's something we'll be looking into."
There have been mixed reactions by locals to what happened this morning. One man said, "who is to say now the GPO won't be turned into a Tesco, or Newgrange will be bulldozed and turned into a theme park.
"That's all possible now thanks to the signal we're getting from An Bord Pleanala."
While another woman in the area said, "if the O'Rahilly family wanted it, they would've bought it. It's gone, it's actually an eye-sore," said one woman.
