Clarehall Shopping Centre is a mid-size

shopping centre A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

located in the northern part of

Coolock Coolock () is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside (Dublin), Northside in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear ...

, north

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, adjacent to

Ayrfield Coolock () is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside in Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear park and ponds. The Coolock suburban are ...

and near the housing estate of Clare Hall. The centre is owned by

Tesco Ireland Tesco Ireland is the Irish subsidiary of supermarket group Tesco. Tesco Ireland was formed by Tesco plc's 1997 purchase of the Irish retailing operations of Associated British Foods, namely Powers' Supermarkets Limited and its subsidiaries, tra ...

and anchored by one of Ireland’s first

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

-branded stores; it opened in 2004.

History

The shopping centre is built near the site of a former house, Claregrove Hall, and the Clare Manor Hotel which replaced it, these origins providing the name of both a nearby housing estate developed in the late 20th century, and the centre. The icehouse of the original house remains. In March 2000, Tesco began planning to build a "£20 million shopping centre" in Dublin 17. Tesco was believed to have paid around £12 million for the 10-acre site. Over one year later, Tesco was still applying for planning permission as it was rejected by Dublin City Corporation as Tesco's request was for a shopping centre to replace existing planning permission for a standalone store. The shopping centre officially opened in the summer of 2004 after years of disputes regarding its size, among various factors.

Structure

The centre comprises a main building over three floors, the middle level dominated by Tesco, with additional shops on the ground and middle levels, and entertainment and office facilities on the upper level. Among the offices are one of Ireland's driving licence application centres and a medical centre. The ground level is mostly parking, with external laundry facilities and a Tesco grocery collection point. The main building features a high glass roof, designed to capture heat and increase operational efficiency. Within the curtilage of the main centre is a smaller building, formerly primarily housing a gym with swimming pools but now divided into a range of shops, along with a restaurant.

Gallery

References

{{Shopping centres in the Republic of Ireland Coolock Shopping centres in County Dublin