A PERIOD house of rare architectural and historical significance in Dublin’s Rathfarnham has been destroyed in a fire.
Gardaí are treating as suspicious the blaze at Marlay Grange, one of the few pristine examples of late Victorian gothic revival architecture in Ireland, and have put a crime-scene boundary at the entrance to the premises.
The house, with its truncated pyramidal roof, was designed by the renowned Dublin architect John McCurdy who also designed Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel.
The listed structure and its 12.4 acres of woodlands next to Marlay Park are owned by the property developer and philanthropist Niall Mellon.
By the time fire and emergency services arrived on the scene on Thursday evening, the blaze was too large to get under control and the roof subsequently fell in, destroying most of the interior.
All that remains of the imposing cut-stone, two-storey, high-roofed structure, dating from the 1870s, are the walls, a Dublin fire brigade spokeswoman said.
Mr Mellon said he and his wife were extremely distressed by the destruction of the property, which they blamed on “a wanton act of vandalism”.
The developer also disclosed that the property was currently uninsured. Angela O’Donoghue, vice-chairwoman of the local Glendoher District Residents Association, said local people had repeatedly complained to the council that there was no security on the site and that the protected gates were constantly being left open. Simple security measures could have stopped this destruction of heritage, she claimed.
The estate was sold by the McGrane family to the British embassy in Dublin for stg£6.4 million in 2000.
The embassy originally received planning permission from South Dublin County Council for extensive remedial work on the property and for a number of outbuildings and chalets on the grounds, intended for use by embassy staff, but the plan was later dropped over security concerns.
The property was then sold by the embassy, at a substantial loss, to Mr Mellon in 2008. A plan by the developer to build a number of executive houses on the estate was rejected recently by the council.
Mr Mellon said yesterday the property had been quietly on the market for some time and was scheduled to be offered for sale publicly in the coming weeks.
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage described the house as “a fine and comparatively rare example of a Victorian Gothic country house in the Ruskinian style”.
Architectural conservation officer with South Dublin County Council Irenie McLoughlin said the council would carry out a full inspection of the burnt-out remains early next week.
