While the summer may be coming to an end, the year-round appeal of living next to Sandycove Beach and the Forty Foot bathing spot continues to attract house-hunters at the upper end of the market.
Having recently accounted for this year’s most-valuable residential sale, with St Kilda on Sandycove Avenue East changing hands for more than €12 million, the seaside enclave has recorded yet another significant off-market transaction.
Mornington House, an extended four-bedroom Georgian property on a 0.17-hectare (0.42 acre) site with direct access to the foreshore at Sandycove Point, has been sold quietly to a senior tech executive. The sale, which is understood to have been brokered through selling agent Michael Grehan of Sherry FitzGerald, appeared on the Property Price Register as having closed on July 28th at €7.2 million. Mr Grehan declined to comment when contacted by The Irish Times.
Built in 1865 as a speculative investment by local property developer Robert Meekins of nearby Glasthule House, the house was in recent years refurbished and extended by its outgoing owners. Mornington House extends to 430 sq m (4,520 sq ft) distributed across its original 19th century structure and a contemporary extension with floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic and uninterrupted sea and coastal views. The works were completed with the design and guidance of the British architect Philip Gumuchdjian.
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Apart from its impressive structure, the property’s interior has a number of attractive features including a bespoke curved staircase that forms the centrepiece of its double-height reception hall.
The accommodation comprises a reception, guest cloakroom, drawingroom, kitchen, study, butler’s pantry, boot room and a wet room at ground-floor level. There are four bedrooms on the first floor, all of which are en suite, and these are complemented by a fully fitted media room. The property’s basement features a gym and a communications room.
News of the sale comes just four weeks after The Irish Times reported on the off-market disposal for more than €12 million of St Kilda. Before its sale by London-headquartered property agent Inhous, the extended villa-style property had been home for many years to the late Peter Cosgrave, his wife, Oonagh, and their family. Cosgrave, who died in 2019, was one of Ireland’s leading property developers and founder, with two of his brothers, Joe and Mick, of the Cosgrave Property Group.
An examination of the Residential Property Price Register shows that two other homes in Sandycove also changed hands for multimillion-euro sums recently. In May 9 Sandycove Point was sold for €5,191,950 while White Sails, on Marine Parade, secured €5 million.
