The McCarthy family grew up in 33 Silchester Road – a house their parents purchased in 1968.
In 1972 the house next door – Ashdoonan at Number 32, came to the market, and was duly purchased by the family.
"It was laid out as three large flats initially but thankfully all the period details were intact, then in the 1980s we sold next door and moved in here," says Maeve McCarthy of the imposing 342sq m property where she and her seven siblings grew up.
The walls of the property are adorned with works by Maeve, an artist, whose portrait of Maeve Binchy hangs in the National Gallery. It seems that creativity runs in the blood; her brother Peter, a film director – who currently resides at the house, runs Good Dog Films and won a number of international awards for his film Flight or Fight; an account of a personal journey in the world of Thai boxing.
Because of Peter's links with the film industry, the family home has been used as a set location for many film and television series, which include Sing Street and more recently Striking Out starring Amy Huberman and Neil Morrissey.
One of the real selling points of the property, besides its vast space, is the south facing aspect to the front which flood the rooms with light through fine bay windows on each of the three floors.
The principal bedroom which takes up the entire first floor is simply jaw-dropping. Measuring 39sq m with an open fire, a cello – crafted by sibling Brian, is overlooked by a remarkable ceiling rose. The property has four additional double bedrooms and a home office which could work as a sixth.
The rooms to the back of the house, set over the three returns, are all bright despite being north facing, thanks to these rooms having a dual aspect.
When the family renovated the property, the kitchen was located at garden level and old partitions were removed to the rear, which allows for a spacious living room, with access to the rear garden.
There are bathrooms on every floor, some of which would benefit from upgrading.
In keeping with the size of the principal bedroom, the reception rooms at hall level are very large and will happily accommodate outsized antiques. Both rooms have original fireplaces – as do the bedrooms, and the coving in the front hallway is quite remarkable.
A 70sq m workshop lies beside the house, offering potential as either a mews or substantial home office – subject to planning. There is precedence next door at Number 33; the original family home which had a separate mews and sold in 2016 for €2.175m.
Ashdoonan, number 32, in excellent condition on a site of circa 0.28 of an acre is on the market through Knight Frank with an asking price of €2.395m.
