Howl At The Moon nightclub to be replaced by 53-room hotel

An application has been submitted to DCC for planning permission to demolish Howl at the Moon nightclub on Lower Mount Street, Dublin and build a 53-room hotel on the site.

Dale Vision, a company associated with Oakmount, the development company headed by Paddy McKillen Jnr and Matt Ryan is behind the application. The location was previously part of the Capital Bars group and was sold in 2014 to Danu Investment Partners, along with other well-known Dublin venues, the George, the Dragon (since reopened as NoLita) and Café en Seine in a €15 million deal.

The venues became part of the Mercantile Group following a merger in 2016with Howl At The Moon being sold again some months later to Oakmount for a reported €3.2 million.

The present building is noticeably different from the rest of the buildings on Lower Mount Street. Standing at three storeys, the nightclub is significantly shorter than its Georgian neighbours, the majority of which are four to five storeys over-basement. The current building also lacks the brick façade of every other building on the street.

Oakmount plan to replace the existing building with a six storey hotel with a brick front.

Oakmount already owns one completed hotel, The Dean on Harcourt Street, Dublin, and has planning permission for two more in Ranelagh and North Wall Quay.

The layout of the new hotel will be similar to that of the company’s others, featuring a bar and reception area at ground floor and a rooftop restaurant including outdoor terraces. The four floors designated for accommodation will contain 53 guest rooms, while the basement will contain function rooms and a meeting room.

Oakmount’s hotel in Ranelagh village is currently under construction and is due for completion in June 2018. The 1,868sq m hotel will offer 41 guest rooms, a bar and restaurant at ground floor and a rooftop restaurant, in addition to a small art-house cinema.

Construction is due to begin soon on its 58-bedroom hotel on North Wall Quay, which will likely open in late 2018 following an 18-month build.

In all, Oakmount will have 204 rooms across its four hotels once they are all completed, assuming the Mount Street plans are approved in their current form.