People around the country will be familiar with the fleet of garish Paddywagon tour buses. They can be seen on the road and stopped at different locations bearing generally younger backpacking types of tourists. Or so one would have imagined, although even before Covid company founder and owner Cathal O’Connell claimed that it was “all middle-aged Americans now that are on a Paddywagon bus.”
The company has also provided, as part of their package, hostel accommodation at much cheaper rates than if you were to have to book into hotels and guest houses. Perhaps the best known of the hostels is Paddy’s Palace, which is strategically close to the main northside bus station Busáras and Connolly railway station.
This has catered to the more budget conscious backpacker for many years – but, it would seem, that is the situation no more. The reason for this is that an application was registered with Dublin City Council on April 25 to have the building at 55 Gardiner Street Lower/5 Beresford Place changed over “from hostel to emergency accommodation for persons seeking international protection”.
It will now, with the approval of the Department of Integration if it is allowed a planning exemption, become an IPAS centre. The application had originally been registered in January but it would appear that the City Council – now more conscious of such matters – asked for further information regarding the plan as the building is a designated Protected Structure.
The applicants, through their agent Mark Tubridy, have responded to state that “no alteration to the internal or external of the building are proposed”. Nor ought there really be a need for said alterations given that the IPAS lads, much like backpackers, are happy to be thrown hugger mugger into dormitories containing bunkbeds. Happy days, except the tourists pay their own way, contribute to the local economy, and go home when their holiday is over.
BRANTVIEW
The building itself is still registered as owned by Paddywagon Holdings Limited, which is entirely owned by Cathal O’Connell. However, the application has been made by a company called Brantview which it seems, on first glance, has some modest experience in the field of IPAS asylum accommodation and has done correspondingly moderately well from it.
In the last six months of 2024, when they began to receive payments, Brantview has taken €1,549,800 out of the kitty. One imagines that the Paddy’s Palace hostel would have the capacity to pull in a right few punters and therefore earn a good bit more both for Brantview and for Paddywagon: going forward, as they say in the best business circles.
Brantview gives the same address as Paddy’s Palace as their own business address but they have not bought the building from O’Connell according to the property records. The company was registered in January 2022 and its original address was at Rathcoole, County Dublin. While its own accommodation earnings are relatively meagre, Brantview is connected to pretty serious players.
Brantview was originally entirely owned by Thomas Malone of Fusion Corporation Limited and that company appears still to have a relationship with Brantview as the change of address form was signed by Damien Malone of Fusion Corporation who, through Damone Holdings, is the sole owner of Fusion.
Malone also owns an accountancy business based in Baldonnell. He is also a director and a half owner, along with a Walter Thomas Pierce, owner of Galenfield Limited with the same address as Malone’s accountancy firm, of a company called Spindara. That company drew down more than €3 million in accommodation payments in 2024. Pierce, who lives in Malt,a also owns Healthcare Recruitment and Assistants Limited which is involved in property rather than what you might imagine it to be.
Fusion Corporation is still secretary of Brantview and the only director of Brantview is Derek Scully. Scully is also a director of four other companies which have drawn down large amounts of money in accommodation payments from DCEDIY.
One of those companies, Heronwell, is among the major beneficiaries of the accommodation sector and in 2024 alone received more than €15 million from the taxpayer via the good offices of the Department.
Heronwell was only established in January 2022 and Scully, Thomas Malone and Fusion Corporation have been involved in the company since the beginning. It is listed as 99.01% owned by a Damien Batemen, with an address in Portmarnock, of whom I know precious little, yet. More anon.
That address is a property at which several other companies provide as theirs. It is registered as owned by HLK Developments which is owned by a chap called Harry Parkinson who has an address in Belfast. He has another intriguing connection that I will expand upon in an upcoming piece. One of the directors of HLK is a Damien Fitzsimons who owns a company involved in the Bulgarian property market.
There is lots more and I shall be following up on it. Meanwhile, be content to know that the former backpacking hostel at the bottom of Gardiner Street which has been the launching pad for many a happy venture into Ireland is now in the maw of corporate capital. Top of the Morning to You.