An artist impression of the development
Work on social housing units at Stephen’s Place commence
Work has begun on a new social housing development on Rossfield Avenue in Tallaght, which when completed will be named in memory of a 12-year-old boy killed in the area almost 25 years ago.
The site for the 16-unit social housing development is the location where Stephen Hughes Connor was killed after a makeshift hut he was sleeping in with a friend was set alight in September 2001.
Following a trial in 2014, a jury found Dermot Griffin of Ballyfermot Road, Ballyfermot, guilty of setting the children’s makeshift den on fire causing Stephen’s death, sentencing him to 15 years in prison.
South Dublin County Council confirmed in a statement last year that the new development will be named Stephen’s Place, following consultations with Stephen’s mother Elizabeth.
“We’re in frequent contact with the family in relation to the development and will be named Stephen’s Place as per [his mother’s] wishes,” a council spokesperson said in April 2024.
“We will remain in continuous contact throughout the course of construction.”
Stephen Hughes Connors died in 2001
At the Tallaght Area Committee meeting on Monday, September 22, SDCC senior executive officer for Housing Provision and Financial Management (Construction) Vivienne Hartnett said that the council’s contractor has “started onsite” at Rossfield Avenue.
The proposed housing development will consist of 16 apartment units and will see the demolition of an existing derelict two-storey shop unit at Brookfield Avenue/Rossfield Avenue plus the removal of existing walls entrance and gate for Brookfield Enterprise Centre.
The 16 apartments, a mix of 1, 2 and 3-bed own-door units, will be constructed in two blocks, located on both sides of the existing entrance roadway into Brookfield Enterprise Centre and will be three storeys in height stepping down to two storeys adjoining existing houses on Brookfield and Rossfield Avenues.
“We expect those 16 units to be in towards the end of 2026,” Ms Hartnett told councillors at Monday’s meeting.
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