The area around Beechwood Avenue in Dublin 6 became viable for residential development with the arrival of the railway line through Ranelagh to Bray in 1854, but it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that development had expanded to about 66 houses being built on the upper stretch of the avenue.
A mix of Victorian redbrick villas and semidetached and terraced homes, houses here retain period features such as high ceilings, sash windows and period fireplaces. As the avenue matured, many houses have been extended and modernised while retaining the characterful facade on the tree-lined street.
The street – which is minutes from the green line Luas stop at Beechwood and shops at Dunville Avenue, and a 20-minute walk from Grafton Street – has been home to some influential denizens. Maureen O’Hara, the Irish actor who became a Hollywood legend and the late Douglas Gageby, who was described by the late John Hume as “one of the greatest and most positive and influential Irishmen in this century” and editor of The Irish Times for 22 years, both lived in this leafy Dublin 6 suburb.
Next door to Gageby’s house (number 54), which sold in 2021 for €1.225 million according to the Property Price Register, is number 53, a handsome, semidetached redbrick hidden behind a towering silver birch, which has just been launched to the market through estate agent Owen Reilly.
Apartments and houses from €500,000 set to launch at Auburn Woods in Malahide
New homes in short supply while completions will ‘struggle’ to exceed 30,000 this year
In pictures: Impressive Victorian with converted coach house in Clonskeagh for €4.45m
Selling agents’ outlook for new-homes market: Buyers find themselves in ‘fiercely competitive environment’
Laden with artworks, an attic-style room on the first floor gives a hint that previous owners had an interest in art. It was home to the late Gerhardt and Miriam Gallagher: Gerhardt, a distinguished Irish forester and practising artist helped elevate Ireland’s profile in forest science and land use planning. He married Miriam O’Connor, who was one of Ireland’s pioneering lay speech therapists who went on to become a prolific playwright and performer, producing more than 20 plays, by the time of her death in 2018.
Extending to 161 sq m (1,733 sq ft), the three-bedroom Victorian redbrick is in need of upgrading, evident from its E1 Ber.
One of the loveliest spots in the house is a drawingroom on the first floor – the piano nobile – which spans the width of the house. While many along the street – and in most Victorian homes these days – use this space as the principal bedroom, it’s really a beautiful room anchored by a period fireplace.
In addition, two reception rooms lie inside the front door at hall level and steps down lead to a breakfastroom and kitchen to the rear. Two box rooms and a shower room are located here too, and with the help of a good architect could be reimagined into a lovely space – especially since there is a small courtyard off the kitchen – which has the benefit of access from a pedestrian gate.
Upstairs are two further bedrooms (plus the piano nobile), a shower room and the space where Gerhardt painted; his prints gained acclaim in the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts and the Mill in Dundrum.
Outside, a back garden has been cleared and is set mainly in lawn with a mature apple tree.
