Some of Ireland's leading property firms have tabled their bids to snap up the 8.64 acre Dublin 4 site which RTE is currently offloading.

First round bidders include Joe O’ Reilly’s Chartered Land, Cork developer Michael O’ Flynn, former Treasury Holdings co-founder, Richard Barrett’s Bartra Capital and Stephen Garvey’s Bridgedale and the publicly-quoted house-building company, Cairn Homes, according to The Irish Times.

The land, which is adjacent to RTÉ’s broadcasting headquarters at Montrose, includes the area occupied by the outdoor Fair City set, is listed by Savills with a guide price of €75m - but could sell for closer to €90m.

Cairn Homes chief executive  Michael Stanley revealed yesterday that his firm is eyeing the site. If it secures the land it plans to build between 10 and 15 houses or an apartment complex.

This land is being sold without planning permission.

Artist impression of what a development on the site could look like

Savils says that the space could be used to build up to 500 units comprising of a mix of apartments and houses.

When plans to sell the property were announced in March, Mark Reynolds, Director, Savills Ireland, commented: "This area of Dublin is synonymous with exclusive high-quality apartments and period houses, but supply has been limited due to the lack of appropriate development sites.

"Therefore, we see Project Montrose as a once in a generation opportunity to be part of a truly transformative development story in one of Dublin’s most affluent and fashionable areas. For anyone serious about urban development not only in Ireland but in Europe, it doesn’t get better than this."