Number 70 is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and has been earmarked for demolition to make way for a new entrance into the planned 50,000-seat stadium. A 13metre-high podium is then to be built above the overhead lines of the Dart at the back of Shelbourne Road in order to allow people access to the arena.

Dublin City Council has warned that attempts to add the building to the Record of Protected Structures (RPS) could lead to possible legal action by the stadium developers.

But that warning has not stopped the residents from seeking an independent opinion from An Taisce and the Civic Trust on the merits of No 70, which stands at the end of a long terrace.

"These are a collection of houses and our concern is that if you knock one house down, it will degrade the whole terrace, " said Cathy McCartney, of the Lansdowne and District Residents Association (Ladra). "It is not the grandest or most elaborate of Victorian terraces in Dublin, but it has a certain charm in that despite its proximity to Ballsbridge, Baggot Street and Grand Canal Street, it is still almost exclusively what it was intended as when built 160 years ago . . . a residential terrace."

The new stadium is a joint venture between the IRFU and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), who set up the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company (LRSDC) to manage the project in 2004. The government is providing 191m towards the funding of the 365m project, which is due to be started in 2007 and completed in 2009.

According to Philip Brown, IRFU chief executive and LRSDC chairman, the problem of 70 Shelbourne Road is one for Dublin City Council to resolve. "Our understanding is that a heritage assessment was made on the building which we own and have owned for several years, " he said. "It was found to have no architectural merit to it. Apparently some councillors have a different view, so we will wait and see. It doesn't represent an issue for us."

The Shelbourne Road house is just one of over 130 objections that the LRSDC has faced since it lodged its development plans at the start of this year.

While Ladra is very concerned about No 70, it has expressed concern about the height of the stadium, which, at 48 metres, it says will be twice the height of the tallest buildings in the area. Another group of local neighbours, the Bath and District Residents Association (Badra), now a limited company, has said it will take legal action if planning permission for the stadium as already designed is secured.