The long-time Dublin base of veteran property tycoon Paddy McKillen has hit the rental market seeking €8,000 a month. The house, 1 The Birches, was one of the first houses developed in the 1980s in the exclusive enclave, located off Foxrock’s Torquay Road, and was probably purpose-built at the time as a family home for McKillen.
The 500sq m (5,382sq ft) property, set behind electric gates, has ample parking for multiple cars to the front, and has a large southwest-facing garden to the rear. Inside, the six-bedroom property has evidently been updated, with high-end modern finishes throughout. The house, according to the rental listing, would be ideal as an embassy residence.
In 2014, the property appeared in the property price register as having sold for €2.1 million. However the entry was marked as “not full market price”, which can suggest a number of scenarios, such as the previous owner retaining a partial interest in the property, or perhaps the property was exchanged for other property or shares. Land registry filings suggest Paddy McKillen jnr (34) and his wife acquired an interest in the home from his mother, Maura, at that time.
While it is not clear whether the property investor has spent much time in Ireland in recent years, given his significant business interests abroad, or indeed whether any his family has resided at the Birches house, the current rental offering may well mark the departure of the prominent family from Foxrock.
Three generations of McKillens have lived in the Birches estate over the years, including Paddy McKillen, his children, and also his parents, who owned Oakmount, the house next door, until 1994.
