Landmark Kildare café eyed for demolition
Mother Hubbards in Moyvalley
A LITTLE bit of north Kildare history could finally disappear with the news that Mother Hubbard’s in Moyvalley is being eyed for demolition.
For decades this iconic truck stop café was a landmark on the old N4 Dublin-Galway road – despite famously having no plumbed water or mains electricity - before it was bought in 1990 by Irish-American businessman John Healy.
Healy then set about building the permanent structure and extending the premises so much so that its existence prompted the building of a mirror business on the N18 at Kilcolgan in Co Galway.
However, the completion of the 39Kms of the €300m M4 motorway section from Kilcock to Kinnegad in 2005 signalled the inevitable end for this very popular stop-off.
The application is made by O’Shea’s Shotblasting, Baltracey, Donadea, and a decision is expected to be made by the middle of May.
This will include the demolition of the vacant restaurant building, surrounding fencing, unused overground tanks, and a number of concrete pads.
This will then be replaced in time by a new single-storey warehouse with a workshop, signage and an underground fire-fighting water storage tank.
This application will also allow for the relocation of a number of containers, some new fencing and gates, the provision of additional car parking, and a new wastewater and percolation area.
The application also seeks to retain a length of fencing already erected on the site.
