St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre: Shops, History & Plans

If you’ve walked past St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre lately, you might have noticed something in the air — not just the smell of coffee from the food court, but a real sense of uncertainty. A €100 million redevelopment plan that would have reshaped Dublin’s beloved retail landmark was rejected by the national planning appeals board in July 2025, leaving shoppers, tenants, and heritage campaigners wondering what comes next.

Shops and restaurants: Over 70 ·
Opened: 1988 ·
Purchase price (2022): €175 million ·
Redevelopment cost: €100 million ·
Original architect: Burke-Kennedy Doyle & Partners

Over 70 stores, restaurants and services sit across four floors. Here is a quick data snapshot pulled from the centre’s history and current operation.

What shops are in St Stephen’s Green shopping centre?

Major anchor stores

• Dunnes Stores – a full-line grocery and fashion anchor (official website)
• Boots – pharmacy and health & beauty
• Holland & Barrett – health food and supplements

Fashion and apparel retailers

• New Look, River Island, JD Sports, and several independent boutiques occupy the first and second floors.

Dining and food court options

• The upper-level food court offers cuisines including Chinese, Italian, and quick-service Irish staples.
• Cafés such as Costa Coffee and Insomnia provide grab-and-go options.

Services and amenities

• ATMs, a post office, baby changing facilities, and a multi-storey car park with discounted shopper rates.

Bottom line: The shopping centre currently operates over 70 retail and dining options, positioning it as a convenient downtown stop, though the mix lacks luxury anchors that drive larger draw.

The implication: the centre’s mid-tier retail identity is both a strength for daily footfall and a weakness in competing for destination shoppers.

Is St Stephen’s Green shopping centre being demolished?

Scope of the original plan

• The €100 million scheme proposed demolishing much of the existing building, including the iconic glass dome, and replacing it with 35,043 sq m of office space plus expanded retail and food-and-beverage areas (RTÉ).
• An Coimisiún Pleanála refused permission on 30 July 2025, overturning Dublin City Council’s earlier grant (The Irish Times).

What will be preserved?

• The refusal means no demolition happens under that plan. The centre continues to trade normally.
• The board criticised the proposal for lacking “a strong sense of original aesthetic” and failing to achieve high-quality placemaking.

Official statements from the owners

• Davy, the owner, has not publicly confirmed whether it will appeal or submit a revised design.
• A petition on Change.org urging the centre be considered for protected structure status has gathered signatures (Change.org).

Bottom line: The contentious redevelopment is dead in its current form. The dome stays, the food court stays — for now. Campaigners argue the centre’s 1980s architectural character deserves formal protection.

The catch: Davy’s €175 million investment now has no clear return path, raising pressure for a fresh, possibly scaled-down proposal.

Why are they changing Stephens Green shopping centre?

Modernisation goals

• Davy aimed to create a “modern, vibrant space” to compete with newer shopping destinations such as Dundrum Town Centre.
• The 1988 design is considered outdated in terms of layout and retail efficiency.

Retail market trends

• City-centre landlords are shifting toward mixed-use developments that blend retail, office, and leisure to boost footfall.
• Increasing the office component (35,043 sq m) was central to the business case.

Economic and commercial drivers

• High rental values in Dublin 2 and proximity to the Green make the site prime for intensification.
• The refusal now raises questions about how Davy will recoup its €175 million investment.

The pattern: the planning board’s ruling signals a growing preference for design integrity over pure commercial intensification in prime city-centre locations.

Who owns Stephen’s Green shopping centre?

Current ownership (Davy)

• Davy, a Dublin-based financial services group, acquired the centre in 2022 for €175 million (Wikipedia).
• The seller was a consortium led by Hines and Pensionskassernes Administration.

Previous owners

• Before Davy, the centre was owned by various institutional investors, including German fund managers and Irish insurance companies.

Purchase details

• The €175 million deal was one of the largest single-asset retail transactions in Ireland in 2022.

Why this matters: Ownership by a financial services group rather than a retail specialist may explain the focus on maximising development value rather than incremental retail improvements.

What is the biggest shopping centre in Ireland?

Dundrum Town Centre

• With over 160 stores, Dundrum Town Centre is Ireland’s largest shopping centre. It opened in 2005 and is located in south Dublin.

How Stephen’s Green compares

• Stephen’s Green (70+ stores) is less than half the size of Dundrum in terms of retail count.
• Dundrum attracts higher footfall due to its extensive leisure and dining offer and suburban catchment.

Other major centres

• The Square in Tallaght and Blanchardstown Centre also exceed 100 stores each.

The contrast is clear: Stephen’s Green occupies a prime city-centre location but lacks the scale and modern amenities that drive today’s shopping patterns.

What is the history of St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre?

Construction and opening (1988)

• The centre opened in 1988, designed by Burke-Kennedy Doyle & Partners (Wikipedia).
• It was built on the site of the former Hibernian Bank and other commercial buildings.

Architectural design

• The distinctive glass dome became an instantly recognisable feature, allowing natural light into the central atrium.
• Postmodern elements blend with the Victorian surroundings of St Stephen’s Green.

Major milestones and renovations

• Early 2000s: a refurbishment updated interiors and common areas.
• 2022: Davy purchase sparked speculation about the centre’s future.
• 2023/2025: the redevelopment saga, ending with the planning refusal.

What this means: the dome’s preservation is now a political and cultural issue that may force Davy to adopt a more sympathetic design in any future application.

Timeline: Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre key dates

• 1988: Centre opens (Wikipedia).
• 2022: Davy acquires for €175 million (Wikipedia).
• 30 July 2025: An Coimisiún Pleanála refuses €100 million redevelopment (RTÉ).

This timeline underscores how the centre’s recent history is defined by ownership change and planning conflict, with the future still undecided.

Clarity check: what is confirmed & what remains uncertain

Confirmed facts

• Redevelopment plan refused by An Coimisiún Pleanála on 30 July 2025 (RTÉ).
• Davy is the owner since 2022 (Wikipedia).
• Objection filed by Ahmed Alraqi, claiming the design erases the building’s character (The Irish Times).
• Petition seeking protected structure status (Change.org).

What’s unclear

• Final design details if a revised plan is submitted.
• Exact completion date for any future scheme.
• Whether the food court will be relocated.
• Impact on existing tenants during any future construction.

This split between confirmed and unclear factors highlights the uncertainty that hangs over the centre’s physical and commercial future.

In their own words: key quotes

“The proposed design has gone out of its way to erase the building’s character.”
– Ahmed Alraqi, objector, as quoted in The Irish Times

“The scheme would not achieve a sufficiently high standard of placemaking, urban design and architecture at the site.”
– An Coimisiún Pleanála, as quoted in The Irish Times

The planning board’s ruling puts the centre’s owners in a difficult position. For Davy, the €100 million redevelopment was the only route to a significant return on its €175 million investment. For Dublin shoppers and preservationists, the refusal is a victory — but one that leaves the centre’s long-term future unresolved. The choice now is whether Davy re-enters the planning process with a smaller, more sympathetic design, or lets the centre drift as a mid-tier retail asset in a city that expects more from its prime locations.

Frequently asked questions

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