An Edwardian redbrick in Dartry – the home of one woman for 84 years – is the first house to be auctioned in Dublin this year, writes BERNICE HARRISON

IT HAS taken until March for the first house auction in Dublin to emerge. It’s an executors’ sale of 52 St Kevin’s Park, Dartry, Dublin 6 and Lisney will be putting the detached Edwardian redbrick under the hammer on March 31st with an AMV of €1.5 million.

The last house to sell by auction in Dublin was in December in Harold’s Cross and it, too, was an executors’ sale, an indication of how auction rooms at this end of the market will be used in the future.

The owner of 52 St Kevin’s Park was the road’s longest resident and it is a record that will be hard to beat. She passed away in December at 103 years of age and she had lived on the quiet residential street since she was 19.

The fascinating and unusual thing is that the house looks very much like it did when she first walked through it as a teenager.

The paintwork on the doors and skirting is still the dark brown, grained and varnished style that was popular in the late Victorian and Edwardian period.

The floorboards in the reception rooms are painted black with an area rug in the centre as was the fashion and the kitchen, with its Belfast sink and larder presses, is the original.

The only concessions to modernity are the recently installed central heating, the alarm and the downstairs bathroom but, other than that, it is much as was when the builder left it.

The double-fronted house was built at the start of the last century when suburban houses were becoming more practical for family living and less decorative.

The 244sq m (2,626sq ft) five-bedroom house has a long, private back garden. There are three reception rooms, a kitchen and a scullery and box room as well as the bedrooms.

As was the norm at that time, the toilet (complete with its original wooden seat) and timber-panelled bathroom are separate and, while this arrangement will most likely change, new owners will probably restore the massive free-standing bath.

Obviously that will be just one small part of what will be a considerable renovation job. Other similar houses on the road have been extended to create large, family-friendly kitchens and there is certainly space to do that here.

As well as plenty of room at the back there is a garage to the side that has not been used for some years.

The Edwardian builder couldn’t resist some decoration and the ceilings in the livingrooms have interesting decorative panel work that is a feature of all the houses in St Kevin’s Park, as well as more elaborate plasterwork in the hall.

Other original features that should be marked for keeping include the art nouveau brass internal door handles and timber fireplaces and the stained glass in the windows and front doorway.

There is a variety of house styles and sizes on this road, and this detached version is one of the biggest. The last similar-sized one sold in 2001 for €1.4 million.