How Ferrybank Shopping Centre became one of the most notorious ‘ghost shopping centres’ in Ireland
Ferrybank Shopping Centre
Before Ferrybank Shopping Centre was built, the area had multiple pubs, a variety of shops and was a vibrant community. Today, the pubs are shuttered and in order to do their shopping, residents must walk or drive past a gigantic vacant building that was promised to them 20 years ago to be a brand new shopping centre.
According to the 2022 census, Ferrybank had a population of 5,722.
According to the 2006 census, that number was 3,465.
Despite this population growth, services and amenities to the area have actually declined.
This week, after a protracted 20-year saga involving multiple local authorities, NAMA, Better Value Limited (Dunnes Stores) and several cases in the High Court, the red tape has finally been cleared for the anchor store, Dunnes Stores, to move in.
Ferrybank locals have had mixed reactions to this news.
Ferrybank resident David Farrell told the Waterford News & Star, “If anyone is naïve enough to believe it’ll happen they might need their head checked. However, if it does, it would be great. There’s a lot missing here but it would choke up roads etc. I’m not sure we have the infrastructure to deal with it.”
Linda Power has lived in Ferrybank for over 20 years. She said, “It’s idle there so long you wouldn’t even pay attention to it anymore."
Linda told the Waterford News & Star that she does her shopping in Dunnes Stores in Waterford, which is a three-hour round trip by foot from her house.
“So it would be so handy to have a shopping centre this side of the bridge.”
Local delivery driver and former Ferrybank resident Colin Wemyss remarked that “there’s nothing in Ferrybank. It’s a pity. The bar is gone; the bookies is gone. It’s drying up, and something needs to be done.”
Colin made the point that, “If it’s not going to be a shopping centre, what is it going to be?”
He concluded: “We need to make something of it or else it's going to sit there for another 20 years.”
Karen Ganley works in the post office in Ferrybank and has lived in the area for 28 years. She remembers back in 2008 when the shopping centre was built, “Everyone was delighted at the prospect of new shops opening up because we have very little facilities here. At the time we had a few little shops but now it's even more important – we have nothing."
Karen said the shopping centre has “cast a shadow” on the reputation of Ferrybank. She said: “When you look at the Dunmore Road side of town, it's just insane the amount of supermarkets they have compared to here.
“People might see the lack of investment and not want to live here, they might wonder why there has been so little investment.”
The Ferrybank Shopping Centre has gained national attention as it became the poster child for so-called ‘ghost shopping centres’. Ferrybank Shopping Centre was built at the height of the Celtic Tiger in 2008 by property developer Dermot McPhillips. Reports at the time estimated that the development cost around €100 million. The original shopping centre was to include a retail warehouse, 16 retail units, health and beauty outlets, 12 apartments, and a range of civic amenities.
In an agreement signed in 2007, Dunnes Stores agreed to be the anchor store of the shopping centre.
In 2010, NAMA (National Asset Management Agency) took over Mr McPhillip’s Bank of Ireland loans. In 2012, it was reported that the High Court ordered Dunnes Stores to pay Mr McPhillip’s development company, Holtglen Ltd, a €20 million arbitration award.
What ensued was a protracted legal battle between the developer, NAMA and Dunnes Stores. During this time, the building remained largely empty with just one unit in use – the library.
Land Registry records show ownership passed to Dunnes Stores, trading as Better Value Unlimited Company, in 2022.
In 2025, Kilkenny County Council approved a planning application made by Dunnes Stores to amalgamate what was originally intended to be a car showroom into the rest of the store.
This is when Waterford City and County Council got involved. They contended that Kilkenny County Council failed to carry out an adequate retail impact assessment before granting permission for the development.
CEO of Waterford Council Seán McKeown explained why they decided to go to court: “The basis of our case was that we felt that the planning permission, which was issued by Kilkenny County Council to Dunnes, was in contravention of their own county Capital Plan.
“The permission granted by Kilkenny County Council was on foot of a 2006 permission that was issued to Dunnes which never commenced, which had expired, which was almost 20 years old, and which was based on an entirely different retail context to what we now face in Waterford city centre.
However, this week, Justice Richard Humphreys warned Waterford Council that the High Court was unlikely to rule in its favour.
Following Waterford’s withdrawal of their judicial review concerning Ferrybank Shopping Centre, the local authority will now have to foot the bill for all legal costs incurred by both opposing parties, namely Kilkenny County Council and Dunnes Stores.
Ian Gardener, acting director of services for Kilkenny County Council, told the Piltown District Council that “after a significant delay”, plans for Ferrybank Shopping Centre can finally be progressed.
Mr Gardener said these comments were an “endorsement of planning decisions made by Kilkenny County Council”.
Cathaoirleach of Piltown County Council, Ger Frisby, said the shopping centre would benefit “not only the Ferrybank area but the entire South Kilkenny area.”
He continued, “It's something the 7,000 residents of Ferrybank deserve; it's long overdue.”
The councillors at the meeting expressed that they had no animosity towards Waterford City and County Council.
Fine Gael councillor Pat Dunphy said, “Unless we co-operate, we’ll never have success.”
He continued that while he thought it was good that Waterford withdrew its legal proceedings, “It’s a pity it went that far.”
Fianna Fáil councillor Jenny Slattery said, “We need to move on now from what went on.”
She said, “I think it will benefit both sides of the bridge.”
Fine Gael councillor Fidelis Doherty pointed out that the library and civic offices (where the meeting was held) have played an important role in the Ferrybank community for the past 13 years.
Waterford News & Star asked Dunnes Stores when they intended to begin work on moving into the shopping centre but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
