You’ve got to hand it to the copywriters of old, they sure knew how to impress. In 1850, selling points of the newly completed Queen’s Square included “a main sewer which discharges into the Liffey with every receding tide”. Residents of the charming new development were to be beguiled by both cleanliness and convenience, which according to the writer, had no equal in Ireland or England. The advert appeared in Henry Shaw’s Dublin Pictorial Guide and Directory, and is part of a collection of memorabilia connected to number 45 that survives today.
These days, Queen’s Square has changed its name to Pearse Square, and house buyers can generally take cleanliness and decent sewers for granted (one would hope). The new owners of Number 45 certainly will. When Rachel and Alan Matthews bought it in 2013, the house had been empty for some years and it was in considerable disrepair. Determined that it would become their forever home, they spared no expense in making it as perfect as possible.
“We did it in about six months,” remembers Rachel. “We had seen it and said to ourselves: this is our dream house. And then the scary stuff started. We walked in the front door, and thought: oh my God, what have we taken on?”Original features were repaired and restored, windows replaced (to the original sash design) the house was rewired, insulated, and re-floored. They also dug down at garden level to get more light in and make for greater space.
Alan project managed the whole thing, and it has been beautifully done. The house is laid out over three floors, totalling 205sq m (2,206sq ft). At garden level, one large room flows from front to back, with kitchen, dining and seating areas. On the first floor, a bright sitting room, large study and bedroom give plenty of living flexibility. The property is for sale through estate agent Owen Reilly seeking €1.1million.
Up top there are two more bedrooms, with a large bathroom on the return. “We use the whole house,” says Rachel, and it has clearly come into its own in lockdown because of that extra work space on the first floor. “In summertime we’re downstairs in the garden room, while in winter it’s upstairs with the fire.”
Huge additional selling points must also be the garden and the house’s proximity to the city centre. While many of the neighbouring properties have had mews houses built out back, number 45 has retained its entire garden. “The family who sold it to us were so attached to it,” Rachel explains. “Their dad had been so proud of the house and garden, he had wanted to keep it intact for his grandchildren to enjoy.”
This means that while you can park your car through rear access, the length (approximately 20m (65.5ft)) still leaves plenty of room to enjoy this rare outdoor urban space, which also includes a built-in barbeque area.
Meanwhile, Pearse Square itself has a shared park at its centre, which was reinstated in the 1990s, thanks to the Residents' Association. This, Rachel says, is testament to the lovely community she and her family have found here. Add to that, she says, "you're five minutes walk to restaurants, coffee shops, Trinity College, the theatre, Grand Canal Dock, there's a weekly fish market. And it's also incredibly quiet – all the things that make your life easier and nicer."
Despite having imagined they would stay put forever, lockdown led the family to realise something else that really mattered to them: theirextended family. They have decided to move to a house with space for a separate apartment, in order to be near Rachel’s parents. It’s an opportunity for a prospective buyer to walk into a lovely home, in a historic part of the heart of the city.
