Dublin 6: €1.9mThe Ranelagh house of the late Mary Holland hosted many important figures in recent Irish history, writes Kate McMorrow
Oakville, at 28 Oakley Road, Ranelagh is easy to miss, located down a cul-de-sac off the avenue and almost hidden by a screen of mature greenery.
This seclusion must have been a godsend for the scores of famous names in politics, arts and literature who visited here over the years.
Oakville was the home of writer and Irish Times journalist Mary Holland, who passed away in June 2004. Regular visitors to the house included Séamus Heaney, Maeve Binchy, Nell McCafferty, John Hume, Garrett FitzGerald, Des O'Malley, Michael Colgan and Gerry Adams.
Heaney's poem Mint, dedicated to Mary and signed by the Nobel Prize-winning poet, is framed on the kitchen wall. It is believed that the mid-19th century house played a significant part in discussions that preceded the Provisional IRA ceasefires.
All in all, an historic house with the tranquil air of a country vicarage. At the end of a long and delightful front garden, Virginia creeper scrambles over the porch. The gravelled path runs along one side of the lawn, where a winter cherry is getting ready to flower.
It will be sold at auction by Sherry FitzGerald on October 5th and has an AMV of €1.9 million.
While some might prefer the contemporary look, others will be charmed by Oakville's traditional styling, from Colefax and Fowler fabrics and wall coverings to subtle Farrow & Ball and Fired Earth paint colours. To the left off the hall is the drawingroom, which hosted many convivial evenings when Mary's children, Kitty and Luke, were growing up. Two tall windows with original brass fastenings look out on the garden and there is a period tiled fireplace flanked by bookshelves. The floor is polished wood.
Across the hall, dramatic magenta walls in the diningroom take their colour from stained glass panels in the bow window. Bookshelves crowd either side of the old fireplace. Original panelled doors link this room with an open-plan kitchen / breakfastroom, which had an expensive revamp earlier this year.
Cupboards and the island unit are painted a subtle grey-green, worktops are marble and the floor is laid with Italian stone flags. There is a trendy Belfast sink and integrated appliances, including a De Dietrich gas hob and electric Pyroclean oven.
Catching the morning sun, the breakfast nook opens onto a flagged terrace encircled by a screen of honeysuckle and fuschia. A glass atrium adds light and cushioned window seats are fitted into the bay. Off a rear lobby is a laundry room and guest toilet.
The smart bathroom on the first return has walnut cupboards, blue oblong tiles and snazzy sanitary ware from Elegant John. Three double bedrooms and a little box room open off the main landing.
The main bedroom with original floorboards and double windows is a replica of the drawingroom below. An en suite could be made from the box room next door. Another double room with a period fireplace is decorated in pink for Kitty's daughter Rosie. A third double bedroom with fireplace looks out to the rear.
The gardens are well-kept and mature, with high boundary hedges and plenty of room on the front lawn for a trampoline and climbing frame.
Maintenance of the cul-de-sac is carried out by the owner of a small six-unit apartment block, next door to Oakville but set well back and scarcely visible from the garden.
