Oakley Road in Ranelagh, Dublin 6, runs one way from Dunville Avenue to Ranelagh village and is lined with a pleasing mix of house types, leafy laneways and pillars that are gateways to the past. One stone gatepost retains the inscription “Baerndorf”, the name of the house where Eamon Ceannt, one of the signatories of the Proclamation, had lived, but where an apartment block now stands. Ceannt was one of four residents of Oakley Road who took part in the Easter Rising, along with Thomas Mac Donagh, and Willie and Padraic Pearse who opened St Enda’s school at their home, Cullenswood House, in 1908.
Farther north along the same side of the road, which was called Cullenswood Avenue until the 1890s, is a short terrace of tall, two-storey over garden-level houses built in the mid-19th century. The first of the four, number 46, is known as Oakley Manor and is for sale through Herman White Estates with an asking price of €2.15 million.
Granite steps lead up to the grand entrance, with a fluted column on either side of the solid door. This opens into a large hall with a coffered ceiling and lovely plasterwork above, and two arches facing you, so you go through one and around a corner to get to the reception rooms and the stairs.
Period features
The substantial architraves lend a feeling of generosity to the intact period features – and, with 250sq m (2,691sq ft), to the whole house. Doors are wide and windows – all recently reconditioned sashes – are tall, with working shutters, a sign of the care the current owners have taken with the house in their 33 years here. As a protected structure, it is BER-exempt.
To the left of the hall is the west-facing living room, bright even on a day of thumping rain, with a decorative cornice, high-relief ceiling rose and a marble fireplace with tiled inset and brass canopy. Double doors to the dining room double-fold back on themselves into the deep frame: this room has a black marble fireplace with tiled hearth and a plain cornice.
The main staircase is lit by a fine arched window and there is a very smart, fully tiled shower room on the half-landing. The two main bedrooms are off the big, square, top landing; the main one has the two big front windows and is as big as a ballroom, but dark wardrobes leach some of the light. A second big bedroom with wooden floor looks out over the 90ft garden, which is bounded by the Luas track; it’s far enough away that you can’t really hear it hum.
Down half a flight from the hall, the smallest bedroom is fitted out as a study and this also overlooks the garden. Open-tread wooden stairs lead down to the garden level where all the floors are tiled including those of the two double bedrooms. One has a sweet fireplace and as the windows are slightly shorter at this level they could be very cosy. There is also a bathroom at this level.
Mature trees
A glass door opens to the garden which is under different areas of hard landscaping, with colour from raised beds and mature trees. At the end is a block shed and there is pedestrian access to a lane parallel to the track.
The kitchen and living/dining room are at the front and, unusually, the front door to this level is not under the steps but has replaced a window. It is made of glass, so the light is not compromised, but this area is where new owners might rethink the layout as the kitchen is arranged in a long galley that extends under the steps and the only natural light comes from the back hall and a hatch to the dining room.
Out the front, there is space for two cars in the cobblelocked garden, which is bound to be a plus for some potential buyers: this is a really convenient area, just minutes’ walk from two Luas stops and a few bus routes, and a swift cycle to town and to the many shops and schools that are within easy reach.
As there are so many styles of house on the road, it is not really helpful to compare prices, but according to the Property Price Register number 49 Oakley Road, at the other end of this terrace – which was converted from flats back into single use and given a comprehensive upgrade – sold for €2.075 million in 2017. It was auctioned by Sherry FitzGerald with an AMV of €1.9 million.
