Gibbons Development Ltd has applied for permission to remodel the interior of the property into a restaurant and to replace the 10 existing flats with two commercial units. The plan includes the construction of three one-bed apartments on the first floor of the building.

The application also contains a proposal to include a sculpture and a "historical artefact display area" and to repair and restore period features in the building.

"I think it's a positive development, " says local Fine Gael councillor, Tereasa McGuire.

"It's certainly a beautiful building. I'm from Mill Street and I recall playing in it as a child when it was derelict. I can remember that it has a fabulous staircase. I know it's let out in flats at the moment but some of them have been vacant for a while. I would be confident that the preservation order will ensure that the restoration and development work will be carried out tastefully."