The owner of one of Belfast’s oldest pubs says she is horrified to find that it is to be stripped of its listed status.
Lily Mulholland said the first she learned of the Department of the Environment’s plan to de-list Kelly’s Cellars was when she read it in the Belfast Telegraph yesterday.
Now the historic pub – where the United Irishmen once met to plot their 1798 uprising – is launching a social media campaign to keep the listing, which protects it from inappropriate development.
Ms Mulholland said she has been inundated with calls from people who want the listing to be kept and she fears that once the listing is gone, Kelly’s Cellars would be vulnerable to a wave of development that is sweeping across that part of the city centre.
“If you delist a building it can be vested for development and there is a lot of development going on round me at the minute,” she said.
“There’s a possibility that my building could be in the way.
“If you have a building that was listed, obviously there were reasons for it, so why would they now want to delist a building like this?
“This is an ancient building and people aren’t going to be very happy about this.
“People come here and they love Kelly’s Cellars because it’s so old – they love that old world, old Irish feeling inside.
“I’m absolutely shocked.”
Lily said she has contacted the DoE asking for the reasons why Kelly’s Cellars is proposed for delisting but hasn’t been able to get answers.
On Thursday, Belfast’s shadow council planning committee unanimously voted to oppose the delisting of all 17 buildings, as proposed in a paper from the DoE.
The buildings that will be stripped of their listing include 4-8 and 10 Church Lane (a series of traditional shop fronts including tobacconist Miss Moran), the Methodist Church at 11-16 Donegall Street East (which is now the Ulster Bank), and numbers 276-294 Tennent Street, Edenderry Gardens.
The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society, which opposes the wave of delistings, said it welcomes the response from listed building owners who want to safeguard their status.
Chief executive Nikki McVeigh said: “It is a credit to listed building owners, such as owners of Kelly’s Cellars, Miss Moran’s and others on this list, that they keep up the ongoing maintenance and use of these important buildings.
“The architectural and historical value, and associated tourism and economic value that these owners work to maintain, must continue to be supported by listed status.”
Background
Kelly’s Cellars, at 30-32 Bank Street, was built in 1720 by merchant Hugh Kelly who kept it as a bonded warehouse selling rum, gin and whiskey. It is renowned as a meeting place for Henry Joy McCracken and the United Irishmen when they were planning the 1798 Rising, with McCracken reported to have hidden behind the bar when British soldiers came for him. Kelly’s Cellars can be followed on Facebook or at @kellyscellars on Twitter.