Drumleck is a refurbished trophy home on 10 acres in Howth. Orna Mulcahy reports

One of the finest seaside homes in Howth, Drumleck, at Ceanchor Road, is on the market at €8 million through Douglas Newman Good.

A trophy house with an immaculately refurbished interior, Drumleck stands on about 10 acres of magical gardens sweeping down to the sea. It was built in the 1840s for the McDougall family but its most famous owners were the probably John and Gertude Hunt, the art dealers who lived there for almost 30 years from the mid-1950s.

Their vast collection of art and artefacts was donated to the State after their deaths and installed in the Hunt Museum in Co Limerick. The collection has been in the news recently following allegations by the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation that it includes art work stolen by the Nazis.

Now owned by a wealthy Scottish businessman, Drumleck is one of the most private properties on Howth's exclusive Baily. It is reached at the end of a long tree-lined avenue off Ceanchor Road, and surrounded by magnificent grounds which extend beyond the cliff walk to a little beach, and include acres of lawn, terraced gardens, woodland, a sunken rose garden and an all-weather tennis court. There are outdoor and indoor swimming-pools, a large gym, and staff quarters.

Some of the Hunt treasures remain in the grounds, including a fine pair of stone lions that guard a flight of granite steps where a stream rushes down to a fountain at the centre of the rose garden. Classical columns line up above the outdoor swimming-pool while a massive Georgian granite doorcase is a focal point at the top of the terraced gardens, leading through to a walled garden where there is scope for some development subject to the necessary planning permission.

Drumleck now has one full-time gardener, with extra help in summer, but it's a far cry from Victorian times when the head gardener would have had a dozen or more men working for him.

The large white house has 743 sq m (8,000 sq ft) of living space, and while it is every inch a grand period property, much of its fabric has been replaced or rebuilt. Tall sash windows throughout were renewed by Ventrolla, floors were taken up and relaid, walls replastered, ceiling cornices copied and replaced, walls knocked through, rooms rearranged, and the roof re-tiled in Bangor blue slates. The orginal mahogany doors had warped - they were dismantled by a furniture expert who incorporated their fielded panels into new mahogany frames. McMurray hand-made carpets, Waterford crystal chandeliers, and a mix of new and original fireplaces are all part of a luxurious makeover that will appeal to buyers who like tradition in an utterly private setting.

A grand entrance hall with a black and white chequered floor leads to a double drawingroom with superb views over the garden and the sea on two sides. A separate large diningroom has an equally dramatic view, but family dining goes on in a vast eat-in kitchen with double doors to a patio which leads to the outdoor swimming-pool.

An impressive staircase leads to the upper floor where the rose pink main bedroom is dominated by a bay window looking out to sea. Leading off it is a large en suite and a walk-in wardrobe. The remaining bedrooms are all doubles, with bathrooms either en suite or nearby, while a corridor leads off to a separate staff flat that sits atop a wine cellar and a workshop.

Other notable rooms include a large study and a games room with a full size billiards table. Drumleck is for sale by private treaty with Conor Gallagher and Tony Forte handling viewings. A must-see house for the very wealthy, the gardens will soon be at their best when the rhododendrons burst into bloom over its jagged cliff edges.

For a virtual tour of this property click on www.nicemove.ie