The owner of Dublin’s Silk Road Café is set to meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin this afternoon after the restaurant was granted a temporary injunction allowing it to remain open inside Dublin Castle.
The café, located in the Chester Beatty Library within Dublin Castle, had been closed to the public on June 14 for security reasons ahead of Ireland hosting events linked to its EU presidency.
The owner, Mr Phelan, and his team of around 20 staff say they were informed by email that they were “not allowed” to enter the premises, effectively locking them out of the business.
Speaking following the court ruling, Mr Phelan said he was “absolutely so relieved” and confirmed he would be meeting the Taoiseach in the Dáil at 12:30pm in the hope of further intervention.
“I am absolutely so relieved about it, we’re meeting the Taoiseach in the Dáil at 12:30 today and we’re hoping he will interfere, it’s gotten so unpleasant,” he said.
Micheál Martin
He added that the experience of being drawn into a legal dispute was deeply unexpected after decades running the café.
“We’ve been forced into a corner where I have to defend myself. I never thought I’d find myself in court, I’ve never been to court before, I had to look it up on Google Maps.”
He also suggested the dispute had become personal and unnecessary given the long history of the business at the site.
“They thought the little man in the little restaurant would not fight back. That’s not right.”
The injunction means Mr Phelan will be allowed access to the restaurant until July 16, when his tenancy is due to formally end. A full hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday.
He said the period of access will allow staff to protect stock and begin winding down operations safely if required.
“Until then, we have access to the place. We’re going to do some tidying up for now, we want to make sure none of the food goes off,” he said.
The café owner also highlighted the scale of stock left inside the premises when access was initially restricted.
“We had things worth €50,000 sitting in there. We had hummus falafel and baba ganoush we needed to deliver to Dublin Food Co.”
He said the way the situation was handled had been particularly difficult after more than 25 years of trading in Dublin Castle.
“It was unpleasant to be treated that way after 25 years. Forget the legal stuff, they’ve known me for 25 years and they didn’t respect me enough to even speak to me.”
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The dispute centres on plans to close the café for several months due to security arrangements connected to Ireland’s EU presidency, which the landlord said required significant restrictions on access to Dublin Castle.
However, the court granted a temporary injunction, allowing the business to remain open for now while the wider legal proceedings continue.
The case is expected to return to court later this week for further examination of the tenancy arrangements and proposed closure period.
