ACCLAIMED actress Saoirse Ronan has been granted planning permission to build a family home 3km outside Ballydehob.

The 31-year-old, who is married to Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden, was given the green light by Cork County Council on her second attempt.

Ronan, who has been Oscar nominated four times for her roles in Atonement, Brooklyn, Lady Bird and Little Women, had sought permission for ‘a long term home for a young and growing family’.

Planners gave the go ahead to her company Slaney Productions UC to demolish an existing 125sqm two-storey property at Foilnamuck, Ballydehob and replace it with a ‘high quality’ single-storey 320sqm farmhouse-style home.

The Outrun star bought the coastal dwelling on a 2.6-acre site in 2020 for a reported €650,000.

In October 2024 Cork County Council refused planning permission for a prior application ruling it would detract from the visual amenities of the area.

Revised plans were accompanied by an architect’s report stating that the client brief was for ‘a dwelling designed in sympathy with the surrounding landscape that could act as a long term home for a young and growing family’.

Ronan and Lowden welcomed their first child last year.

The proposed development wraps around a central courtyard with three bedrooms, an open living space, office and library, and covered terrace.

The local authority attached 15 conditions to the granting of planning permission ‘having regard to the development plan objectives for the area and the pattern of development in this rural area’.

Planners ruled that ‘the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area and would not be prejudicial to public health and, therefore, would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.’

Several conditions relate to landscaping and planting, with one noting: ‘In the event that bats, a protected species, are encountered roosting during course of works on site… works shall be immediately suspended and the applicants are required to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service.’

A resource waste management plan must also be prepared prior to any works on site, with a report requested by the local authority within three months of occupation certifying the wastewater treatment system.