Hopes Bullitt Dublin hotel will open in 2028 after nine years in planning

By Rebecca Black, Press Association

It is hoped a new Bullitt hotel in Dublin will open in 2028 after nine years in the planning system.

Belfast businessman Bill Wolsey and his Beannchor Group are behind the venture, which will be the second following a Bullitt in the Northern Ireland capital.

Wolsey, the man behind the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, described a long process which included the finding of more than 100 skeletal remains in the preparation of the project, in the Capel Street area.

He said they initially thought the former Riverdance headquarters was a Georgian building but it turned out to include parts which date back to the 11th century, including a graveyard.

St Mary’s Abbey is believed to have been used by the Savigniac and Cistercian orders opened in the 12th century, however carbon dating has indicated that one of the graves discovered predates that by 100 years, indicating the presence of a previous Christian settlement on the site.

“We’ve been nine years in planning, because what we bought was the headquarters of Riverdance, and we thought it was a Georgian building, and it turns out bits of it come from the 11th century,” Wolsey told the Press Association.

“And within our property was a graveyard for St Mary’s Abbey and we found more than 100 bodies ranging from the 11th century up to the 15th century.

“So that’s why it’s taken so long, and then Covid got in the middle of it.

“But getting planning has been a bit of a nightmare, and we understand the historical forms of the building, but now we’re able to go ahead, we have an amazing site when you walk around, see the different buildings, and we think, and we hope, that it will be hugely successful.”

Wolsey also described the cost of the project as “crazy”, but said they believe it will be successful.

“Dublin is quite an interesting one, because the bill costs are crazy, but we’re committed to that,” he said.

“Nobody would go ahead with what we’re doing because the valuations we’ve been given on the finished (product) are lower than what it’s costing us to build but we’re confident, as operators, we’ll be able to give the good people of Dublin and others to visit Dublin something they’re not being given at the moment.

“So that’s a difficult decision, and I don’t think anyone would do it other than us.”

The hotel is aimed to be opened in around two years’ time.