News of the sale of Walford for €14 million has left many observers of the fortunes of this Shrewsbury Road symbol of Celtic Tiger excess scratching their heads in confusion.

Last year joint agents Lisney and Savills were instructed to remove the For Sale signs from the property and, despite expressions of interest in it from third parties, it was clear the agents were out of the selling equation. So when the sale of 24 Shrewsbury Road for €14 million appeared on the Property Price Register last week eyebrows were raised at the price achieved – just €1 million shy of the asking price a year ago.

Despite Walford’s reputation as the most expensive house sold at the height of the property boom, for a reported €58 million in mid-2005, it is in a state of serious disrepair.

The buyer then was Matsack Nominees Ltd, whose beneficial owner was Gayle Killilea, wife of property developer Seán Dunne.

Neighbouring Woodside,which is believed to have sold last year for €5-€8 million (though the Property Price Register recorded the sale as €1.7 million), is believed to be a superior property.

The €14 million sale price would indicate the buyer is interested in the development potential of the site. But no planning has been lodged yet, and development of Shrewsbury can be a vexed process when cautious residents and the area’s conservation status are taken into account.

But could it be that the latest buyer of Walford had been waiting in the wings all along? The Block understands that before the property was officially placed for sale a couple of years ago there were indications then that an unsolicited offer of €14 million had already been made on it.