Hollybank Road is one of a cluster of redbrick-lined streets sandwiched between the city side of Drumcondra village and the river Tolka. The streets veer up from the tree-lined main thoroughfare and feel miles from the city’s bustle.
“It was the wide tree-lined boulevard with a mixture of Edwardian and Victorian houses that really drew us to buy here,” says the owner of 44 Hollybank Road, a three-bed mid-terrace house.
The property has rare off-street parking too, since the owners installed an electric roller gate to the rear of the house: “Although parking is normally fine, on match days at Croke Park, it can be really invaluable.”
Purchased in the early 1990s the house which dates from 1903 has had just two owners in the intervening period. Now the current owners are relocating for business reasons.
“I travel quite a bit to the US and Europe, so being a 10-minute drive to the airport was a huge bonus, in addition to being a 30-minute walk to Grafton Street. Drumcondra has come on so much, with lovely local restaurants and cafes, since we first moved here.”
The property has the usual layout of a period terraced house, with two formal interconnecting reception rooms. The dining room to the rear has the added bonus of French windows that lead to a bright sunroom – which is also accessed from the kitchen and garden – and this, in addition to the white colour palette, floods the reception rooms with light.
There are three bedrooms, two fine doubles and a smaller room adjacent to the family bathroom upstairs.
Upgraded
Over the years the house has been upgraded, with salvaged flooring installed in the reception rooms, and the conversion of the attic now offers a large additional room measuring 17sq m (183sq ft) in addition to the 117sq m (1,259sq ft) of existing floor space.
All of the original features, including fireplaces and coving have been preserved and maintained, with sympathetic salvaged additions in keeping with the property’s heritage.
Drumcondra is a popular spot for house hunters, having blossomed into one of Dublin’s loveliest villages. A lot of younger couples are buying two-up, two-down houses in the area, and the larger houses on Hollybank Road, Griffith Avenue and Home Farm Road are generally sought by older, trader-uppers.
Number 44 Hollybank Road in turnkey condition, is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €725,000.
