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 The shopping centre and carpark, 2007 | |
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| Location | Coolock, Dublin, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°23′45″N6°12′49″W / 53.395761°N 6.213612°W |
| Address | Oscar Traynor Road |
| Opening date | 1 October 1970 |
| Developer | Green Property Ltd |
| Owner | AM Alpha |
| Architect | Sam Stephenson |
| No. of floors | 2 |
| Parking | 600+ [1] |
| Website | northsideshoppingcentre |
Northside Shopping Centre is a shopping centre located in Coolock, Dublin, Ireland. Opened in 1970, it is the only shopping centre in Ireland with a swimming pool. [2]
The plans for the shopping centre were first unveiled in May 1967 by John Corcoran, managing director of Green Property Ltd., the developers of the project, to a member of Dublin Corporation and architect Sam Stephenson (of Stephenson Gibney & Associates). It was stated that the shopping centre was intended to include a library and swimming pool. The main frontage of the shopping centre was facing Coolock Lane which was to change its name to Oscar Traynor Road, after Oscar Traynor. [3]
In August 1968, it was stated that work on the centre was to begin in the following two months and the centre would be completed within two years. [4] [5] The centre was a joint venture between Green Property Ltd. and Dublin Corporation. [6] By November 1969, the shopping centre was nearing completion of stage one of construction, with an estimated total cost of £1 million (equivalent to £17,510,141in 2021). [7]
On 20 July 1970, Feargal Quinn, then managing director of Superquinn, announced at the Gresham Hotel that his company was planning to open a 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2) store in the shopping centre in the following months. [8] [9] It was announced in September 1970 that the shopping centre was to open the following month and that the total shopping area of the shopping centre was in excess of 80,000 square feet (7,400 m2).
On the second floor was a 10,000 square feet (930 m2) swimming pool operated by Dublin Corporation, the first of its kind in Ireland. [10] [11] The swimming pool officially opened on 5 May 1971. [12] In March 2023, it was announced that the rooftop swimming pool was to be shut down after more than 50 years. [13]
The shopping centre was officially opened on 1 October 1970 by British television interviewer and radio disc jockey, Simon Dee. [14] All 56 shopping units in the centre had been fully let out to tenants by September. [15]
Renovations and extension in the 1980s and 2008 have covered most of Sam Stephenson's original open-space concept. [16] In 2013, it was announced that a €5 million further refurbishment was about to commence in the centre. [17] This followed the loss of the anchor non-food store, a Dunnes Stores branch, and saw the arrival of new shops, including Heatons (with Sportsworld), new dining facilities, and a Well Woman Centre.
The refurbishment was completed in late 2016 following a 2-phase modernisation of both interior and exterior. [18] The centre was numbered among the property assets of NAMA; it was subsequently sold to Patron Capital for €49 million in 2015. [19] In 2019, German investor AM Alpha acquired the centre for €50 million. [20]
The branch of Paddy Power bookmakers in the car park was one of the venues visited in a Channel 4's Undercover Boss episode 3, season 4. [21]
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2022 census, the city council area had a population of 592,713, while Dublin City and its suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, and County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500.
Finglas is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Dublin Airport is seven km (4.3 mi) to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the postal district of Dublin 11.
The Northside in an informal but commonly used term to described the part of the city of Dublin that lies to the north of the River Liffey, and extending into part of North County Dublin. The part outside the city is within the county of Fingal, a local government area established in 1994. While it is sometimes regarded as less wealthy than the city's Southside, the Northside was originally the home of the city's upper classes and the more privileged of the two. Today, some of the wealthiest areas in Ireland lie north of the river, such as Malahide, Howth, Clontarf, and Castleknock.
Superquinn was an Irish supermarket chain, founded in 1960 and entirely privately owned by the Quinn family. Select Retail Holdings, a property buying consortium, purchased the company from the Quinn family in 2005. A receiver was appointed to the company on 18 July 2011, and the following day the company was bought by Musgrave Group for an undisclosed sum. On 13 February 2014 all remaining units were rebranded as SuperValu.
Coolock is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside in Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear park and ponds. The Coolock suburban area encompasses parts of three Dublin postal districts: Dublin 5, Dublin 13 and Dublin 17.
Raheny is a northern suburb of Dublin, Ireland, halfway from the city centre to Howth. It is centred on a historic settlement, first documented in 570 AD. The district shares Dublin's two largest municipal parks, Saint Anne's Park and Bull Island with its 4.5 km beach, with neighbouring Clontarf, and is crossed by several small watercourses.
Artane, sometimes spelt Artaine, historically Tartaine is a northside suburb of Dublin city, Ireland.
Feargal Quinn was an Irish businessman, politician and television personality. He founded the Superquinn supermarket chain and served as a Senator for the National University constituency from 1993 to 2016.
The Crescent Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre serving Limerick, Ireland. It is located in Dooradoyle, on the southern outskirts of the city. The complex in its original form was opened in 1973, making it one of the earlier shopping centres to open in Ireland. It has an estimated 100,000 m2 (1,100,000 sq ft) of space, 2,500 free car parking places and 94 shops. The shopping centre takes its name from the adjacent Crescent College, whose original building was in The Crescent in the city centre.
East Wall is an inner city area of the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Built on reclaimed ground in the 1820s, the area is also 30 minutes walk from Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street.
Donaghmede is a mixed socio-economic residential suburb on the northern side of Dublin, Ireland, formed from parts of Baldoyle, Coolock and Raheny in the 1970s. It contains a mid-size shopping centre and a ruined chapel, and lies within the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council.
Darndale is a working-class area on the Northside of Dublin, in Ireland, featuring a high concentration of social housing. It is located in the north of the sprawling suburb of Coolock. Darndale lies within the Dublin 17 postal district.
Harmonstown is a small suburban locality of Dublin, Ireland, located on its Northside. It straddles the boundary between modern-day Artane and Raheny. It has a population of 5,566 inhabitants as of 2016
Priorswood is a townland and district in northern Coolock, on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and forms part of the Dublin 17 postal district.
Edenmore is a locality and townland within Raheny on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, with several housing developments and a mid-size municipal park. It lies within the Dublin 5 postal district.
Pat Quinn was an Irish publican, hotelier, music promoter, storyteller, former millionaire and founder of the Quinnsworth group, Ireland's first supermarket chain. He invented the term "yellow pack". According to The Irish Times, he was "one of the country's best-known business figures in the 1960s and 1970s", "the whizz kid of the Irish grocery business" and "a well-known figure in the Irish-Canadian community" at his death. He worked, honeymooned and eventually settled with his family in Toronto. The Toronto Sun described him as "County Leitrim's favourite son".
Stardust Memorial Park is a memorial park located in Coolock, Dublin, Ireland which was built to commemorate the lives of those who died in the Stardust night club fire on 14 February 1981.
Clarehall Shopping Centre is a mid-size shopping centre located in the northern part of Coolock, north Dublin, adjacent to Ayrfield and near the housing estate of Clare Hall. The centre is owned by Tesco Ireland and anchored by one of Ireland’s first Tesco-branded stores.
The Oscar Traynor Centre is an association football venue in Coolock, Northside, Dublin, Ireland. The ground has been home to Women's National League club Bohemians since 2020.