Those in search of expansive sea views will find good value by pointing their compasses north to Dublin’s coastal commuter towns where Skerries, a former fishing port, has earned a reputation as one of Dublin’s best places to live.
With a population of about 7,000, swimming holes, a working harbour, a market town feel to its main drag and just a 35-minute train run to Connolly Station, it is a closer commute than Greystones on the southside, currently the hottest seaside property hotspot within the greater Dublin area.
And while the number of eateries opening here reflect its promise, houses at the top end of the market are moving only slowly.
Last September Harbour House, a Victorian end-of-terrace property, came to market seeking €1.2 million. It didn’t sell, a change of agent followed and now it is back on the market for €950,000 – that’s a price drop of almost 20 per cent – through REA Grimes.
Its unique selling point is that it enjoys sea views both to the front, and rear. From its north-beach setting Rockabill lighthouse is visible in the distance, with every window to the front framed by the big blue. From the upper floor to the rear there are views to south beach, and the islands of Colt, St Patrick’s and Shenick.
Football history
Harbour House was owned and lived in for many years by League of Ireland veteran Con Martin and his wife Patricia. Martin played for Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne and if the walls could talk they would tell stories of long nights spent in the company of Manchester United legend George Best, Shay Brennan and John Giles. Joe Dolan and Paddy Cole, who played at the housewarming, have also been regular guests.
This is a fine house with two well-proportioned reception rooms on either side of the parquet-floored hall; the formal living room to the left is painted a deep after-dark red, while the dining room enjoys a bay window, the lower part of the property’s full height bay column.
Behind the formal living room is a den with a window overlooking the back garden, a private and broad stretch of lawn with both vehicular and pedestrian access and probably enough room to dry dock a boat during winter.
From here you can join the coastal pathway that hugs the Skerries shoreline winding its way past swimming holes and on to the harbour. Replacing windows with French windows directly out to the garden would, subject to planning, help weave the two spaces together but it is the kitchen and its adjoining conservatory that need a real rethink to take advantage of the sunny south-facing garden.
Currently the kitchen is housed in a dark internal room with most of its units along one wall and an exposed brick wall, featuring a gas fire, on the gable. It opens into the conservatory, which overlooks the garden.
Upstairs there are five bedrooms, all with sea views, and one bathroom.
