Saoirse Ronan's plans to build her dream home on land she owns in Ballydehob, West Cork have been derailed by Cork County Council.
In August, Slaney Productions ULC - which is owned by Ronan - submitted a planning application with the Cork Cork Council seeking to demolish the current two-story house on the property in Foilnamuck, Ballydehob, Co Cork and replace it with a bigger one-story house.
In the application, Ronan is listed as the owner of the land where the house is located. She reportedly purchased the waterfront property in 2020; it had been on the market for almost €800,000 ($934,200) but was ultimately sold off-market.
Saoirse Ronan's property in West Cork.
The application for the planning permission was issued by Andrew Clancy, the director of Dublin-based Clancy Moore Architects.
Details in the planning application show that Ronan's proposed new house would have a light gray and white exterior color scheme.
A floorplan further shows that Ronan's proposed new house would have three bedrooms, two of which would be ensuite, an office, and a library, all centered around an enclosed courtyard. There would also be three covered patio areas along the perimeter of the house.
Though going from two stories to one story, the proposed replacement house would nearly triple the size of the original house from c. 125 sq m to c. 332 sq m.
The planning application further sought the relocation of the existing access and private laneway, upgrades to the existing wastewater treatment system, hard and soft landscaping, boundary treatments, and "all associated site development works above and below ground."
The application noted that if permission was granted for redevelopment, the new house would be used as a "permanent house for year-round occupation."
Saoirse Ronan's property in West Cork.
The application, however, was denied in October by Cork County Council.
According to The Irish Examiner, planners said “a reasoned justification for the demolition of the existing modest and well-integrated dwelling has not been submitted."
The planners added: “Furthermore, the Planning Authority considers that the proposed new dwelling, to be sited at a higher level within the site than that of the dwelling to be replaced, would by reason of the siting, scale, design, and mass not fit appropriately into the rural/coastal/high-value landscape, and the proposed new dwelling would seriously detract from the visual amenities of the area.”
Ronan, who was born in The Bronx, was three years old when she moved back to Ireland with her Irish parents. The 30-year-old, who married her beau Jack Lowden in Scotland over the summer, has landed four Oscar nominations throughout her career and won a Golden Globe in 2017 for "Lady Bird."
While her stellar acting career has taken her around the world, Ronan's heart remains in Ireland.
"...I’m always going to be in Ireland in some capacity," she told The Irish Times in 2019. "It’s my home. My family is there and my dog is there. So I can go anywhere in the world knowing I have a lovely place to come back to."
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