Decision due on plans seeking to demolish Cork house linked to notorious murder

Cork City Council planners are due to decide on an application seeking to demolish a 19th-century home in Blackrock, where the dismembered body of a man was discovered seven years ago.

The derelict building, known as Castlegreina House on the Boreenmanna Road, stands as a constant reminder of the gruesome discovery made on December 28, 2019.

The remains of 64-year-old Frankie Dunne were found in the garden of the property by a man who was out looking for his missing cat.

Following the discovery, a post-mortem was conducted by State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers.

Results from the examination showed that Mr Dunne had been extensively beaten prior to his death.

He was then posthumously decapitated, with his arms and legs removed.

Mr Dunne, originally from Churchfield Avenue, was living at the Simon Community’s high-support facility, Clanmornin House in Ballintemple, at the time of his death.

A resident at the facility, which is situated across the road from Castlegreina House, described Mr Dunne as “a good soul, and a jolly man”.

In 2023, Romanian national Ionut Cosmin Nicholescu, 30, was found guilty of the murder of Mr Dunne and was sentenced to life in prison.

Earlier this year, the Gothic-style property, which dates back to the 1890s, was sold for €485,000.

An application to demolish the residence and develop a new two-storey structure was then submitted to Cork City Council in August.

According to planning documents, engineers found that the existing structure was “beyond repair and is in a dangerous and unsafe condition”.

The proposed plans outline how the new detached dwelling would be designed to “eliminate overlooking into the adjoining properties to the east and west”, with the existing entrance retained.

Cork City Council is due to make a decision on the application by October 5.