Even in pre-Boom times, and before the Luas arrived to improve connections, sites off Brennanstown Road were highly desirable. The owners of Felicitas, who commissioned the house in 1988, had spotted the opportunity while driving in the area.
"Peadar Nolan was the architect, the Gallaghers had owned the land, and he was laying out the sites for them, so we got him to design our house too," they explain.
Set back from the road, and reached through electric gates, and via a circular driveway, the house Nolan built has a dramatic entrance. There’s the double-height atrium, with a dual-aspect drawingroom to the right, and a cosier sittingroom to the left that provides the wow factor. There is a large kitchen and breakfastroom with an open fireplace to the rear of the house.
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More recently, the owners added an Amdega orangerie which opens up the kitchen to the garden and creates the kind of space that visitors naturally gravitate towards. It’s an impressive spot, which the owners describe as easy and homely, but which is also designed to impress.
Wrap-around patio
There’s also a games and media room at this level, plus a shower and sauna as well as a utility room for more mundane chores.
A wrap-around patio provides sunny spots and the planting in the 0.75 acre gardens has matured over the years, with trees, lawns, and roses that scent the air.
Now that their children are grown, the owners have decided it is time to move on, but in the meantime, they have lavished care and attention on Felicitas, and everything is designed and built to the highest spec.
Upstairs, the five bedrooms are huge, with two vying for the title of principal bedroom. It’s up to you whether you want the one reached via the back stairs, with gently sloping eaves and views of Three Rock Mountain, or the dual-aspect one to the front, with an even larger en suite and its own balcony.
Extra space
One of the other bedrooms was enlarged, but it would be easy to re-divide this, giving a total of six bedrooms should the extra space be required.
“It’s a great family home,” says the owner.
“The kids could have as many people as they wanted over for parties, and we’d never hear them.”
Daphne Kaye, who is joint agent for the property with Sherry FitzGerald, describes the house as one of the finest in the area. At 520sq m (5,600sq ft), Felicitas is on the market for €3.1 million.
Also on Brennanstown Vale, the smaller (300sq m/ 3,229sq ft) Heronford is for sale with Lisney for €1.75 million; while Bridgefield is with Sherry FitzGerald at €2.25 million.
It's located just five minutes' walk from the Luas, and close to tennis, golf, horseriding, the Westwood gym and Dundrum Town Centre. The racecourse at Leopardstown is at the top of the road, and there are plenty of schools in the vicinity.
