Rathmines: €1.3mArtists Mick O'Dea and Liz Rackard have a disco ball in the drawingroom and a studio in the garden of their Rathmines redbrick. Rose Doyle reports
The 19th century terraced house at 17 Leinster Road West bought by artists Mick O'Dea RHA and Liz Rackard in 1988 has been good to them, repaid time and work put into its refurbishment and a rear extension.
Daughters Sarah and Helen have grown up there, an end-of-garden studio has provided creative space and the walls of its bright, high ceilinged rooms have been an ideal showcase for their own and other artists' work. (Paintings by Mick O'Dea in next week's annual RHA exhibition include a new portrait of writer Roddy Doyle.)
Built in 1876, number 17 is unique in that it's one of four houses with double windows at this end of Leinster Road West. "They create a great deal of light," Mick O'Dea points out, adding that "there are examples of similar windows in roads round about".
There's a uniqueness about number 17's location too: the house itself is officially in Rathmines, the rear access lane in Rathgar and the nearby shopping strip is in Harolds Cross. Busy and leafy, it's an area with a comforting amount of older Dublin about it.
Divided into traditional family proportions with four bedrooms, two reception rooms and kitchen/breakfast/sun room to the rear, number 17 has 155sq m (1,668sq ft) of floor space. Original sash windows, cornicing and other features have been carefully preserved. There is a good-sized, high hedged front garden and lush Victorian-style, 25-metre (82ft) long rear garden.
Liz Rackard and Mick O'Dea paid £41,000 for number 17 when they bought it 18 years ago. It comes to the market this time with an AMV of €1.3 million and will be auctioned by agent Felicity Fox on June 15th.
One of the liveliest of many decorative details is in the guest toilet at the end of the entrance hallway where Anna Rackard, sister of Liz, has covered the walls with bird and animal detail from a 2600 BC Egyptian tomb. She has since gone on to arguably greater things as art director on such films as The Butcher Boy and Braveheart.
Then there's the disco ball in the front drawingroom, positioned high on the chimney breast by Liz where it strategically catches and refracts the rays of evening sun.
The room has stripped timber floorboards and a period, cast-iron fireplace, the hearth of which has been hand-tiled in blue by Liz.
Double doors lead to the rear diningroom where there is an ornate, Victorian fireplace in polished slate. French doors open to a sheltered patio and give long views of the garden.
The well-fitted kitchen has been extended into the garden with a wall of glass making a sunroom of the breakfasting area. The garden has a pergola half-way down, well endowed with climbing roses, clematis and jasmin.
An end-of-garden studio - once a garage and with doors to the rear access lane - is wired and plumbed, has a large Belfast sink and a bit of history built in. O'Dea used bricks recycled from the old Bartley Dunne's pub on its outer walls.
The first floor return has a small bedroom, family bathroom and hotpress. The other bedrooms are off the high, bright, first floor landing. One to the front has a built-in loft-style bed, another front-facing bedroom has an original, cast-iron fireplace and so does the rear bedroom.
