In the 1940s, when the celebrated Crampton houses on Whitebeam, Whitethorn and Maple Roads in Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, were built, they cost about £2,500. Today you can expect to pay £500,000-plus for a semi-detached redbrick and £700,000 to £800,000 for a detached home.
House prices in Clonskeagh have risen by 20 per cent since last year. Some of the more affordable houses in Clonskeagh are to be found in the Gledswood area off Roebuck Road - but even they are now generally fetching in excess of £200,000. Roebuck Castle and Churchfields are also at the lower end of the price range from about £300,000 to about £500,000. In the main, house prices generally start at £350,000£400,000 and go up to several million pounds.
There is little building space left in this mature residential area only three miles from town. It boasts four primary and five secondary schools, and the vast University College Dublin campus bounds Clonskeagh to the east. There are several sports centres, and nearby green spaces include Herbert Park. The area is served by a Spar shop, a chemist and several banks at the Bird Avenue end of Clonskeagh. There are also several churches and a mosque. Traffic congestion is a problem.
Eight newly-built houses were recently sold for between £625,000 and £1.6 million in the ultra-modern Ardilea Wood development, off Roebuck Road. The skyhigh prices for Dublin's most expensive new housing development have fuelled concern that ever-spiralling prices will continue to push property out of the reach of young local first-time buyers. Land was recently sold with planning permission for 18 apartments near the Friarsland Fitness Centre. Apartments are scarce in the area and you can expect to pay £170,000-plus for a one-bed apartment to about £225,000 plus for a two-bed.
The area has two business parks, Beech Hill and Richview, which house between them about 100 businesses, mainly computer-led light industry.
The suburb of Clonskeagh was part of an area ruled by the Lord Mayor of Dublin as far back as the 1500s. It was used in the 1700s as a shooting range.
