List of tallest buildings in Ireland explained

This is a list of the tallest habitable buildings on the island of Ireland (used for living and working in, as opposed to masts and churches). This includes both Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland. The island of Ireland has relatively few tall buildings. The island's first tall building was Liberty Hall, built in 1965, which stands at 59.4m (194.9feet). The current tallest habitable building on the island of Ireland is the Obel Tower in Belfast, Northern Ireland at 85m (279feet).^{[1] [2] [3]} The tallest storied building in the Republic of Ireland is Capital Dock in Dublin, at about 79m (259feet).^{[4] [5]}

Tallest habitable buildings

Northern Ireland

data-sort-type="number"	Rank	Name	Location	Type	Year completed	Floors (above ground)	Height	Picture
1	Obel Tower	Belfast	Residential	2010	28	85m (279feet)
2	Grand Central Hotel	Belfast	Hotel	1975	23	80m (260feet)
3	Belfast City Hospital	Belfast	Hospital	1986	15	76m (249feet)
4	City Quays 3	Belfast	Office	2022	16[6]	73.8m (242.1feet) [7]
5	The Ewart Building	Belfast	Office	2022	17[8] [9]	73m (240feet)
6	Belfast Hilton Hotel	Belfast	Hotel	1998	16	63m (207feet)
7	BT Riverside Tower	Belfast	Office	1998	14	62m (203feet)
8	Divis Tower	Belfast	Residential	1966	20	61m (200feet)
9=	Royal Victoria Hospital	Belfast	Hospital	2012	12	57m (187feet)
9=	The Boat	Belfast	Residential, Office	2010	15	57m (187feet)
11	Ulster University Campus	Belfast	Education	2022[10]	12Web site: FCBS scoops planning for £250m Belfast campus . 14 March 2013 . architectsjournal.co.uk .	55.5m (182.1feet)
12=	Linium Square	Belfast	Office	2005	13	55m (180feet)
12=	Causeway Tower	Belfast	Office	2004	13	55 m (180 ft)
12=	Great Northern Tower	Belfast	Office	1992	13	55 m (180 ft)
15	Belfast City Hall	Belfast	Government building	1906	N/A	53m (174feet)
16	Grainne House	Belfast	Residential	1968	17	52m (171feet)
17	Europa Hotel	Belfast	Hotel	1971	13	51m (167feet)
18	Lanyon Place	Belfast	Office	2014	12	50m (160feet)

Republic of Ireland

data-sort-type="number"	Rank	Name	Location	Type	Year completed	Floors (above ground)	Height	Picture
1	Capital Dock	Dublin	Mixed-use	2018	22	79m (259feet)[11]
2	The Exo Building	Dublin	Office	2021	17[12]	73m (240feet)
3	The Elysian	Cork	Mixed-use	2008	17[13]	71m (233feet)[14]
4=	Google Docks	Dublin	Office	2010	15[15]	67m (220feet)
4=	Cork County Hall	Cork	Office	1968	17	67m (220feet)[16]
6	Millennium Tower	Dublin	Residential	1998	16	63m (207feet)
7	Liberty Hall	Dublin	Office	1965	17	59.4 m (195 ft)
8	One George's Quay Plaza	Dublin	Office	2002	13	59 m (194 ft)
9	Riverpoint	Limerick	Mixed use	2008	15	58.5m (191.9feet)
10	The Gateway Hotel (formerly Crowne Plaza)	Dundalk	Hotel	2007	14[17]	58 m (190 ft)
11	Sandyford Central, Block D	Dublin	Residential	2023	17[18]	57.1m (187.3feet)[19]
12	Clayton Hotel	Limerick	Hotel	2002	17	57 m (187 ft)
13	Boland's Quay	Dublin	Mixed use	2020	13	54m (177feet)
14	Metro Hotel, Ballymun	Dublin	Hotel	2005	15[20]	52.1m (170.9feet)[21]
15	Alto Vetro	Dublin	Residential	2008	16	51m (167feet)

Tallest buildings by city

This list only includes cities with buildings taller than 50m. Cities in light blue are in Northern Ireland.

City	Building	Height	Floor count	Completed
Belfast	Obel Tower	85m (279feet)	28	2010
Dublin	Capital Dock	79m (259feet)	22	2018
Cork	The Elysian	71m (233feet)	17	2008
Limerick	Riverpoint	58.5m (191.9feet)	15	2008

Under construction

Name	Location	Type	Floors (above ground)	Height	Notes
College Square	Dublin	Residential and office	22[22]	82.1m[23] [24]	Construction commenced in 2022.
Loftlines	Belfast	Residential	17	57m	Construction commenced in 2023.[25]
East Wharf	Dublin	Hotel and residential	15	52.7m	Construction commenced in 2022.[26] Topped out in 2023.

Cancelled

The below list contains details of buildings with a planned height of over 50m which were under construction when the project was stopped or cancelled.

Name	Location	Type	Floors (above ground)	Height	Year cancelled	Notes
U2 Tower	Dublin		Mixed-Use	36	130m[27]	2008		3 basement floors were completed at the time of cessation of the project. The site was later used to house Capital Dock.
The Watchtower	Dublin	Hotel	40	120m[28]	2013		Site was sold to Nama in 2013 and is now partially used as the site of the Exo Building.

See also

• List of tallest structures in Ireland
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Dublin

References

1. Web site: Obel Tower > Glazed In Window Vents > Belfast . Brookvent . brookvent.co.uk . 18 May 2016 . 3 September 2021 .
2. Web site: Planning permission granted for what will be Ireland's tallest building in Cork . Irish News . irishnews.com . 25 March 2021 . 3 September 2021 . Ireland's tallest building is currently the Obel Tower in Belfast, standing at 85 metres high .
3. Web site: Tallest building in Ireland taken over by administrators . Journal Media Ltd . thejournal.ie . 1 December 2012 . 3 September 2021 .
4. Web site: Ciarán Hancock . John Sisk to build major development at Capital Dock . Irish Times . Irishtimes.com . 22 July 2016 . 10 June 2017.
5. Web site: Capital Dock to set new benchmark with two-bed units renting at €3,300 a month . Irish Times . irishtimes.com . 20 November 2018 . Capital Dock is Ireland’s tallest residential building at 22 storeys.
6. Web site: Planning approval for £46m Belfast office block.
7. Web site: Rooftop Illuminated Building Sign on South East Elevation . https://epicpublic.planningni.gov.uk . 6 October 2022.
8. Web site: McLaughlin . Sophie . Former linen warehouse restoration unveiled in Belfast city centre . BelfastLive . 22 July 2022 . en . 13 January 2022.
9. Web site: A 'topping out' ceremony marks huge milestone at 'The Ewart' . 23 August 2021 . 3 September 2021 .
10. Web site: Lyons visits completed Ulster University campus . economy-ni.gov.uk. 28 September 2022 .
11. Web site: Huge new office development set for Dublin's Docklands . The Journal . thejournal.ie . 20 October 2015.
12. Web site: Olivia Kelly . Green light for plan to build Dublin's tallest office block . Irishtimes.com . 2016-03-31 . 2017-06-10.
13. Web site: Cork anchor unit for over €13m . Irish Times . 9 April 2008 .
14. Web site: 2008 – The Elysian, Eglinton St., Cork . Archiseek . 2010 .
15. Web site: Google snaps up Dublin's landmark Montevetro development . Independent News & Media . 17 February 2011 .
16. Web site: County Hall, County Cork . . 19 October 2018 . Detached rectangular-plan seventeen-storey county hall, built 1968, [..] For many years it stood as the tallest building in Ireland at 67m.
17. Web site: Crowne Plaza Dundalk Could Be Set To Change Hands . Talkofthetown.ie . 12 March 2018 . 19 October 2018 . The 14 storey, 129 bed Crowne Plaza Dundalk opened in September 2007.
18. Web site: Citizen Portal Planning . 14 April 2021 . planning.agileapplications.ie.
19. Web site: Apartment Highlights - The Hudson - Dublin Apartments to Rent . The Hudson . 14 July 2023.
20. Web site: €5.5m for hotel and apartments . Irish Times . irishtimes.com . 2 April 2014 . 12 December 2019 .
21. Web site: Planning application: Metro Hotel, Dublin Airport, Santry Cross, Ballymun Road, Dublin 9 . 16 November 2017 . Dublin City Council . 12 December 2019 .
22. Web site: Permission granted to build one of Ireland's tallest buildings on site of former Apollo House . 2022-07-07 . TheJournal.
23. Web site: College Square, Dublin, Planning amendment granting extra 22nd floor. Dublin City Council.
24. Web site: Elevation Planning Doc . Dublin City Council.
25. Web site: ‘Something seriously wrong with planning system’ as Belfast’s Titanic Centre set to be surrounded by 17-storey blocks of flats while parallels drawn with Waterfront Hall . NewsLetter . 23 April 2024.
26. Web site: MKN applies to convert planned six office units to apartments . Business Post . 26 July 2023.
27. Web site: U2 Tower Dublin. https://web.archive.org/web/20210113025215/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/192866/u2-tower-dublin-ireland. 13 January 2021. usurped.
28. Web site: The Watchtower Dublin. https://web.archive.org/web/20210111154243/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/320172/the-watchtower-dublin-ireland. 11 January 2021. usurped.