Plans have been submitted to demolish a building on Rock Street in Tralee which has become renowned for a mural of Kieran Donaghy painted on its wall.
The mural by Tralee artist Mike O’Donnell captures Donaghy alongside his famous jibe at former Derry footballer and RTÉ pundit Joe Brolly.
The planning application submitted is to demolish the derelict house it’s painted on, and construct an apartment block.
The now-iconic phrase by Kieran Donaghy speaking to RTÉ after Kerry’s 2014 All-Ireland final victory over Donegal, aimed at the former Derry footballer and then-RTÉ pundit Brolly, after taking issue with Brolly’s claim that the Kerry team of the time were in transition.
Donaghy and his quote were immortalised five years later, in a mural on a long-derelict corner house at 67 Rock Street by the North Circular Road roundabout by Tralee artist Mike O’Donnell.
Five years on from the painting of the famous mural, Knockbrack Catering Limited, care of Kevin Cotter, has applied for permission to demolish the building on which “Star” was depicted.
The company plans to demolish the existing two-and-a-half storey derelict house, existing boundary walls, and build a three-storey apartment block.
This is proposed to house four, two-bed apartments, and two one-bed apartments.
The company writes in its application the house has been unoccupied for a long number of years and is visibly deteriorating, while it was also recently placed on Kerry County Council’s derelict sites register.
The company says the house was only assessed externally due to access difficulty and safety concerns, and significant work would be needed both structurally and architecturally to bring the building back into use.
Some of the apartments would also include balconies.
The company says this is a great opportunity to enhance a busy and important node in Tralee town and at the same time provide much-needed housing.
Kerry County Council says it will decide on the application by 20th February.
