Palmerstown Park depot transformed into tearooms at cost of €683,000
The new Palmerston Park Tea-Rooms have officially launched in Rathgar.
Having transformed a former depot building into a café with indoor and outdoor seating, together with fully accessible public toilet facilities, this new amenity operated by Copper & Straw showcases the council’s goal of reusing underutilised spaces in action. Speaking at the launch, Lord Mayor Ray McAdam said it highlights their ongoing strategy to enhance city parks.
“Tearooms such as this encourage people to spend more time in our parks as places to meet, relax and enjoy their surroundings,” Lord Mayor McAdam said. “Similar facilities in St Anne’s Park, Herbert Park, St Patrick’s Park and Harold’s Cross Park have already proven their value. Another tearoom is currently under construction in Merrion Square Park and is due to open later in 2026.”
While the original contract for the project was €556,000, an Irish Times report from last May revealed that the final bill came in at nearly 25% more, costing €683,000. The council said that unforeseen structural issues and landscape works added to the bill.
However, spirits were high in Palmerston Park this morning as councillors and the community came together to celebrate the official launch of a project that was first proposed decades ago. Lord Mayor McAdam commended the new space as a place where people can come together and connect.
“We are investing in spaces that invite people in, encourage them to stay, and make our parks not just spaces we pass through but spaces we belong to, and with a variety of works to follow, that is a vision that simply continues to grow,” he said.
“This is what celebrating Dublin to me is all about. It means taking pride in our places, it means investing in our communities, and it means creating spaces where people feel they belong. So today as we open the doors of this tearoom, we're doing something simple, yet something very important.
“We're adding another chapter to the story of our city. A story written not just in our buildings, but in our people. And that, my friends, is a story worth celebrating.”
Green Party Cllr Hazel Chu said it’s fantastic to see a project that has been in development for so many years come to fruition and that this is something local residents have been championing for a long time. She said the addition of public toilets represents a key investment in public spaces that will help Dublin catch up with other cities' offerings.
“Having toilet facilities is a human right and in most of our parks we don’t have that,” she said. “In a lot of public spaces and in town people depend on the goodwill of a shop or a bar. Whereas in a park, who can you depend on? There is no one who is going to let you knock on their door to use their bathroom, so every park needs a toilet.
“You can see it in different countries, why not over here? It just makes the park more usable for all users and it makes it a lot more accessible for everyone.”
Cllr Chu said it’s fantastic to see the previously vacant depot brought back to life and that repurposing vacant and derelict sites around the city is key to the Dublin City Development Plan. “Right now, we are looking at converting two units on Talbot St and Mary St as part of a modelling project of how it can be done,” she said.
“You look at a building like this in Palmerston Park and see what can be done. You can definitely do that with more tearooms around Dublin and the entire country.”
Labour Cllr Dermot Lacey said he and other councillors have been proposing this project for almost two decades and that the public toilets in particular represent an important public good. He said: “It will encourage people to use the park, parks should be public meeting places."
He explained that there is also a bigger programme of works to be done in the park, with further landscaping, restoring the old pond, and upgrading the children’s playground all on the horizon. “This is a great facility in the middle of a densely populated area."
While people often ask local representatives what happens to their local property tax, Cllr Lacey said this highlights a positive use of those funds, even if he believes “government swipes most of that money.”
“This is an example of how we can use our discretionary funding to improve the city. And the more independence we have, the more financial support we have, the more power we have as local government to deliver. That’s been the theme of my entire political life,” he said.
“Local government can deliver when it's allowed. And the sooner we break the shackles of central government and local government, the better for Ireland and for all of us who live here.”
Dublin City Council also acknowledged the work of John Dorman of Dorman Architects for his sensitive design that complements the historic setting of the park. Construction was carried out by Tolmac Construction under the direction of Mick Culligan and Michael O’Keeffe. They also thank Stephen Kennedy and the Copper & Straw team and wish them every success operating this new tearoom.
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