An empty Georgian building that was once the home and shop of 1916 rises leader Tom Clarke has been illegally occupied by people who could conceivably open it as a communal kitchen, the Supreme Court have heard.

Dublin City Council bought the derelict property at 55 Amiens Street in 2018 for €630,000 with plans to convert it into a museum and community center.

The local authority told the court on Wednesday that work has not started because a selected contractor pulled out around 20 months ago, but it is “keen” to revive its restoration plan.

The council has issued High Court proceedings aimed at preventing “persons unknown” from trespassing on the listed 1790s property.

It filed Wednesday for an early rescheduling of a motion it intends to bring seeking to prevent the alleged occupants from altering the three-story building, accessing its roof or using it as a base for a food service.

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said the council appeared to be “somewhat calm” in its approach to the situation, which it found out about a few months ago.

“It just doesn’t seem like it’s considered a matter of extreme urgency,” he said.

The council’s solicitor, David Colgan, said there was “some urgency”. He said it is not known if any attempt has been made to connect the property to an electricity supply, there is concern about the potential use of open flames and reports of people on the roof.

The judge directed the council to notify the alleged residents of the case and the motion, which he scheduled for December 4.

The council’s housing manager for the area, Paul White, said he received reports of unauthorized occupation of the premises in May last year.

In a confirmation, he said he went to the property in July and a man who identified himself as “Alex” gave his phone number but did not allow council staff to enter. White said he returned days later, when a man appeared at an upstairs window to say it was an “inappropriate time to call his house.”

Neighbors said the property had then been occupied for about a month and some of the residents had expressed an intention to open a community kitchen there, he said.

Mr White noted that a pipe was installed along the back wall of the building but he believes there is no electrical connection. He said he left his contact details and later heard from someone who identified himself as “from the house on Amiens Street” and who was “up for a chat”.

A back and forth ensued but the texter did not agree to a date and he has not been able to gain access, he said.

The council office has received a “large number” of complaints from local residents arising from the “illegal occupation”, including regarding alleged large gatherings in the garden. He said there have also been reports of people sitting on the roof and using lights inside, raising fire safety concerns.

( Tom Clarke: the leader left out of historyOpens in new window )

In a sworn written statement, the council’s acting chief executive, Frank Lambe, said 55 Amiens Street was of “national significance” and was run as a tobacconist by Clarke, who was the first signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic.

He said the council planned to restore the building, which had fallen into disrepair over many years. Year 2021, Department of Cultural Heritage was awarded a grant of €50,000 for the restoration of the Irish-language shop front.

But “most regrettably,” he said, the contractor selected to restore the building’s windows and facade pulled out in March 2023 and the property was left vacant. The council is “keen to revive the plan to restore the premises”, which are dilapidated to the point of being dangerous and are “absolutely not fit for habitation”, he said.