Donaghmede

Donaghmede Shopping Centre opened in 1973 on Grange Road in Dublin 13, built on the site of the original Donaghmede House. H Williams operated the property’s original grocery anchor before Dunnes Stores bought the anchor unit in 1987, relocating its entrance inside the centre and operating it as a two-storey unit ever since.

The property carries more than 50 shops across two levels, with Boots for beauty and Specsavers for eyewear rounding out the larger chain tenants, alongside a McDonald’s in the car park and a public library branch operated by the local authority. Circle K runs a forecourt and convenience store on site, and Howth Junction & Donaghmede DART station, roughly a 10-15 minute walk away, connects the area to central Dublin.

Redevelopment plans for the property have been under periodic discussion for years, with planning permission for some form of redevelopment granted as of 2007, though the extent of any work actually carried out since isn’t independently confirmed in available sourcing.

That half-century continuity under a single physical anchor format, first H Williams and then Dunnes Stores occupying the same two-storey unit since 1987, reflects how some of Dublin’s earlier-generation neighborhood shopping centres have persisted with minimal structural change even as the city’s larger, newer developments have repeatedly redeveloped and rebranded around them.