Someone must have been watching over number one Rosmeen Park in Dún Laoghaire during the second World War as the house, just off Summerhill Road in the south Co Dublin town, narrowly missed being blown up by a German bomb. The bomb fell just in front of the house, making a huge crater in the road and blowing in the windows of number 1. The story goes that the woman who lived there at the time was given a state pension by Germany as compensation for the damage to the house and the minor injuries she suffered in the blast.
People came from miles around to look at the crater, including the father of the current owner, who cycled from Blackrock as a child to see the phenomenon. Today, Rosmeen Park shows no signs of having been bombed, and number 1 sits undisturbed in this quiet street, nestled between Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, just across from the People’s Park and a pebble’s throw from the sea. It extends to 162sq m (1,743sq ft) with a C2 Ber, and is now for sale through Sherry FitzGerald at an asking price of €1.295 million.
Number 1 is not actually the first house you come to on Rosmeen Park. The previous owners built a brand new house on the corner site, so number 1, a charming semidetached home that has been cleverly configured for family life, is tucked away between number 1a and number 2. It has two elegant reception rooms plus an open-plan kitchen/living/diningroom extension that measures 7.2m x 5.5m, giving lots of space for a busy family to interact. The vaulted ceiling over the kitchen really opens out the space, and three large Velux windows bring in lots of light. The kitchen/living area has a tiled floor, and built-in Shaker-style wall and floor units, plus granite worktops and recessed lighting. There’s an integrated oven, five-ring gas hob, fridge/freezer and dishwasher and floor-to-ceiling double doors open out on to the lovely west-facing back garden and patio – an idyllic place to spend spring and summer afternoons and evenings.
The dining area has wooden floors, and from here double doors open on to a small courtyard to the side, a cosy outdoor space for sipping your morning coffee. The livingroom to the front of the house has a bay window, wood floor and a feature fireplace with a wood-burning stove set in. Behind that is the family room, with wood floors, lots of built-in shelving, feature wall panelling and storage cabinets. From here a door opens out on to the courtyard.
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Off the hallway is a cloakroom/storage space, a guest WC with herringbone tiled floor and half-tiled walls, and a utility closet plumbed for a washing machine. The closet is well away from the living areas, so once the door is closed, laundry sounds are minimised. Upstairs are three good-sized bedrooms; the principal bedroom faces the front, and has a large bay window looking down Summerhill Road towards Glasthule, plus wall-to-wall fitted wardrobes, picture rail and recessed lighting. The bedroom to the back overlooks the rear garden, and has an en suite with tiled floor, part-tiled walls and step-in shower, plus built-in wardrobes. The third bedroom has built-in wardrobes with a study area incorporated, and looks out to the back garden.
The family bathroom looks out to the front, and the walls and floor are laid in bright marble-effect tiles. It has a free-standing bath plus a step-in shower.
An attic conversion is perfect as a fourth bedroom or a home office, and has Velux windows looking out over Dún Laoghaire, plus under-eaves storage.
The back garden is west-facing, and there is nothing to block the afternoon and evening sun from bathing the garden in light and warmth. There’s space to park two cars in the front drive, and the Glasthule Dart station is just a minute’s walk away. The Metals cycleway and walkway will bring you down to Dún Laoghaire seafront and pier, or down to Glenageary and Dalkey. Schools in the area include the Harold School, CBC Monkstown and Castle Park School.
