RATHFARNHAM: €3.5M:THE HOME of the late Major Tom McDowell, chairman of The Irish Times, has come on the market in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16. Called St Thomas, the Georgian house on Tibradden Road stands on just over 15 acres of land. It is for sale through Knight Frank at €3.5 million.
With a pond generating its own waterfall, deer within hailing distance, sheltering trees and a Dublin mountain backdrop, St Thomas is an impressive house built by the Guinness family more than 200 years ago. Major McDowell purchased it in 1974.
The property comes with a number of outbuildings, including two cottages which surround a yard and are collectively known as the French Village.
The main house has 375sq m (4,036sq ft) with a big hall, three reception rooms, four bedrooms, kitchen and separate larder. There are paddocks and walled gardens, history in the remains of a couple of artichoke gardens, and the Glin River forms part of the land’s boundary.
St Thomas, probably a dowager house on the Tibradden Estate, needs upgrading but would make a wonderful family home with possible income from the mews and guest cottage. Original features – doors, windows, fireplaces, cornicing – remain intact.
There is much to admire in a layout that is relaxed and stylish, and in which bright rooms have spectacularly large sash windows framing the surrounding views.
The sense of space is immediate in a reception hall that is wide, long and ends in an arched, glass-panelled double door. An old-style library, to the left, has a front-facing window with shutters and the diningroom, on the other side, has a marble fireplace with high, old-fashioned grate and door leading to the kitchen.
The drawingroom, overlooking a large, partly walled garden with a magnificent gum tree, has an entire wall taken up by a floor-to-ceiling bay window, which is not original but is a most effective addition.
The kitchen and pantry, which face the walled garden, need considerable upgrading. The main bedroom has windows on two sides, an en suite and dressing room. Two of the other bedrooms face the front, the fourth overlooks the walled garden. The wide stairs continue to a couple of attic rooms used for storage.
St Columba’s College is nearby, as is Marlay Park. The motorway is also close but obscured by a hilly incline that is home to the many deer who wander quite close to the house.
St Thomas, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16
Spacious former Guinness house with outbuildings and over 15 acres
Agent: Knight Frank
