ONE OF THE country’s best known publicans, Charlie Chawke is facing opposition in his plan to get the green light for a funeral home business close to his Goat Bar and Grill in Goatstown in south Dublin.

Last month, Chawke lodged plans with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to change the use of the ground floor of a Paddy Power betting outlet to a funeral home.

However, the planning application is being opposed by Fanagans Funeral Directors where the Dublin firm has moved to protect its €11.8 million revenue a year business.

The site for the Chawke funeral home application is part of the overall Goat & Paddy Power retail complex which has mixed uses at the junction of Lower Kilmacud Road and Taney Road, Goatstown, Dublin 14.

A planning report lodged with the application states that Chawke “believes that a good quality well run funeral home will complement The Goat/Paddy Power Retail Complex and he believes that there is a need locally for such a use”.

The report also states that Chawke “believes that the approval of the permission being sought will greatly improve the overall complex mix and streetscape and be a welcome addition to the area”.

The report states that the preparation of human remains at the funeral home will occur on a limited basis.

In relation to the layout of human remains at the funeral home, the report states that traditional funeral home repose has largely been replaced by repose or wake at the home of the deceased.

The report also states that this trend also reduces the regularity of hearse visits to the location. However, in a strongly worded objection on behalf of Fanagans Funeral Directors, Manahan Planners contend that “this application is ill-conceived”.

The objection states “there is no local need for an additional funeral home to cater to this suburb of the city”.

It adds: “Moreover, a location such as proposed would add surges of traffic to the adjoining road network as this busy traffic light controlled junction.”

Expanding as to why Fanagans do not accept that there is a local need for the planned funeral home, the objection states that Fanagans “operate a funeral home in Dundrum a little more than 1km away from this site”.

The objection drawn up by Tony Manahan states that the Fanagans Dundrum funeral home “presently caters to the area in which The Goat is located”.

It adds that “in outline, they currently cater to the following suburbs – Dundrum, Kilmacud, Goatstown, Stillorgan, Mount Merrion, Clonskeagh”.

Manahan states that “this application proposes to cater to the same suburbs claiming there is a local need for a funeral home in this area”.

He says that the applicants have provided no evidence to support such a convention. He states: “Our client at Dundrum has no difficulty in meeting the needs for this area”.

Manahan said that the central contention in the application that there is a need locally “is flawed and is not supported by empirical evidence”. He also points out that the site is located at one of the busiest crossroads in the south city where traffic builds up all day long at the adjoining traffic lights. 

The objection states that “limiting the number of funeral homes can ensure that land is used efficiently”.

Asked to comment on the application today, Chawke said that it would be inappropriate to make a comment at this time as planning is still pending.

The most recent accounts for Fanagans Funeral Directors Ltd show that pre-tax profits decreased by 34% to €547,136 as revenues rose by 9% from €10.85 million to €11.8 million in 2022.

Fanagans operate from 11 locations in south and north Dublin and numbers employed increased from 72 to 86 as staff costs rose to €5.49 million in 2022. Directors shared €1.1 million in remuneration.

The Council is due to make a decision on the Chawke application later this month.