Shamrock Rovers officials are awaiting legal advice this morning on how they might salvage their proposed stadium in the heart of Tallaght after planners at South Dublin County Council (SDCC) refused an application for an extension to the project's planning permission.

The decision is a huge blow to the project which has been beset by funding and other problems since its inception some seven years ago.

Initial legal advice provided to the club suggests that no appeal against the decision is possible within the planning process, which leaves Rovers, it seems, with little option but to go to the courts in the hope of having it overturned.

The club's chairman, Tony Maguire, said yesterday he and his fellow directors expect to be given a fuller assessment of the legal impact of the decision by Monday, after which, he hopes, a meeting can be arranged with officials from the council's planning department.

However, he remained defiant in the face of yet another setback, insisting the club would complete the project and establish the stadium at Sean Walsh Park as its permanent home.

"Think about it," he said. "We have a stadium 60 per cent completed and a pitch that is second to none. It's inconceivable that it won't be a soccer stadium and inconceivable that Shamrock Rovers won't play there. The only question remains how we get there."

Maguire conceded, however, that the latest setback to the stadium saga had left him "pretty shook up". He maintained that recently the club had been given reason to believe the extension to the planning permission would be forthcoming, and said he only heard about the refusal on the radio yesterday morning.

"All I can say is that I feel a good deal better about the whole thing now than I did then," he said. "I've spoken to Colin Clarkson (the investor whose promise of financial backing had recently revived hopes that work on the stadium could recommence early in the new year) several times since this morning and he has restated his commitment to the project and his determination to fight this decision.

"This isn't the end of this, that's for sure," he added. "We can't give up fighting now. We'll keep on fighting until Shamrock Rovers are into the stadium for the club's good and the good of Irish football generally."

Clarkson, as it happens, was in Dubai yesterday, reportedly inspecting a stadium that incorporated a number of commercial and other revenue-generating facilities. His plans for the latter stages of the Tallaght development were cited by the planners at SDCC as one of their reasons for refusing the required extension, but perhaps most damaging to the application was that the club had submitted the required paperwork in its own name while technically it does not own the leases to the land in question.

These are in the hands of two companies established after the council had initially provided the land on highly favourable terms for the establishment of a significant sports facility. Maguire said talks aimed at gaining complete control over these so that Clarkson could proceed with his investment in the site were at an advanced stage, but the club appears to have become caught in a chicken and egg situation.

When they made their submission to the council, Rovers' directors believed they had only to persuade the planners that Clarkson, whose total investment is to run to some €8.5 million, had the wherewithal to complete the project. But SDCC, which noted the club's failure to make any progress at all since a 12-month extension was granted last year, pointed out that the Dubliner, despite having reportedly provided more than €100,000 to keep Rovers afloat and a similar amount to pay professional and other fees connected with the stadium development, has no legal link with either the club or the companies which control the site.

Earlier planning difficulties, combined with relentless funding problems, had already led to a scaling back of the proposed sports facilities as well as a proposal to dramatically expand the commercial element of the scheme, although Maguire points out that the latter would require a new planning application.

If yesterday's decision is not overturned, however, then, in planning terms at least, Rovers will be back to square one.

Rovers, meanwhile, have until close of business today to inform the FAI's licensing committee where they will play their home games next season. As of yesterday, after talks with three of their rivals, nothing had been confirmed. With Dublin City set to stay on at Tolka Park, Shelbourne's ground appears to be unavailable, while Bohemians officials said yesterday they would only get around to considering the matter on Monday.

Richmond Park, therefore, appears to be the most likely venue, although St Patrick's Athletic officials, under considerable pressure from residents in Inchicore, have refused to renew the club's tenancy agreement.