FIRMOUNT HOUSE in Clane, Co Kildare has a selling point that few other properties here can boast – it has a bunker in its basement in case of nuclear attack. Formerly the Dublin regional headquarters of the Civil Defence, the 1,210sq m (13,000sq ft) house on over five acres was chosen as the base for co-ordination of a rescue operation in the 1960s should Ireland be targeted by nuclear weapons.
The thinking back then was that if the basement windows were bricked up and it was given reinforced concrete walls and floors, it would be a fireproof safe haven.
For anyone who may want to buy with a view to keeping the bunker intact, a Department of Defence spokesperson said that “by today’s standards it wouldn’t be considered suitable as a deterrent against nuclear attack”.
A source who is familiar with the property said that the bunker “probably wouldn’t stand up to a good bulldozer”.
Located on the Sallins/Prosperous road, the advised minimum value (AMV) for the enormous three-storey over basement late Victorian house on five acres, as well as another three-bedroom house adjacent, is €800,000 through Brophy Farrell REA. It is one of 71 properties included in Real Estate Alliance’s (REA) mass auction in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin on April 30th.
Firmount has a colourful history: a Major Henry who built it brought the first motor car to Clane; it was later a British military hospital and by the 1940s, a TB sanatorium. Firmount has been vacant since 2007 and, according to the agent, although not derelict, it does need a complete overhaul.
The first job might be restoring the upper floor windows which were mainly bricked up for security reasons. The property has a long sweeping driveway and the main house has an abundance of rooms – more than 24, most of which were used as offices.
The basement alone has eight rooms including a kitchen and a staff bedroom. There are five outbuildings, two of which are currently in usable condition.
