There are a couple of well worn rugby balls lurking behind mature plants in the secluded gardens of Ardvarna on Stillorgan Park Avenue.
And it is no wonder, as these gardens are where former Irish rugby international Niall Woods has been kicking about since his youth. Woods, who won eight caps for Ireland, now kicks about here with his son, as he and wife Lisa bought the house in 2010 from his parents, who live next door.
Woods has lived here for all but 14 years of his life when he worked in the UK for Harlequins and RPA (Rugby Players Association). He then returned home to establish Navy Blue, his sports management company, whose clients include Keith Wood and Trent Johnson.
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The house was built in 1949 in the Arts & Crafts style and features four lovely reception rooms with 10ft high ceilings and dual-aspect windows that flood the rooms with light.
Polished Canadian maple floors run right through the living space and they have developed a rich honey, patina over the last 65 years which really stand out against the neutral interior palette.
A spacious drawing room to the front of the house takes in morning and evening sunshine through deep bay windows, “I remember my mum would cook a huge Hungarian goulash on the days of an international and feed about 100 people in this room before they all headed off to the match,” recalls Woods.
Vast kitchen
Feeding 100 people won’t be an issue to new owners as the country-style kitchen is vast, with lots of counter space, storage and a separate wine cellar.
A living room, off the kitchen, in pale greys opens out to a patio where the family dine al fresco surrounded by raised beds of mahonia, wild garlic, mint and fennel.
New owners will enjoy the manicured gardens which stand on a third of an acre. “The garden is my mother’s creation and I can’t take any credit,” says Woods, whose mother Leonie, an avid gardener, planted an entire bank of cherry blossoms to give complete privacy from neighbouring houses.
The house has five bedrooms, the master of which is enormous, with views to the Dublin Mountains.
The only room that needs any work is the downstairs bathroom, which new owners may want to update.
Ardvarna would make a lovely family home and is for sale through estate agent Hunters with an asking price of €1.465m. With its 280sq m (3,015sq ft) of floor space, and very large gardens there's plenty of room to accommodate budding sports stars.
