Dublin 18 home with a robot to mow the lawn

When constructed in 1965, Saffron Hill – which lies just up the road from Lamb Doyle's pub, would have been considered far from the city, which is one of the reasons Patricia Fanning and her family decided to install an outdoor pool. "Back then it was quite a remote location so we decided to put a pool in the front garden – my sister who lived just up the road put in a tennis court in her garden, so all our children would have outdoor activities year around," says Fanning.

Now with the M50 just a 10 minute drive, the property has the best of both worlds – wild deer run through the gorse behind the back garden, which is heavily fenced to keep them from the careful plantings in the garden which occupies a third of an acre.

Saffron Hill is all about the views, which take in Dublin Bay to Howth and a vast area beyond. Because of the vistas, Fanning who has lived here for 41 years, decided to utilise a room upstairs as a living room – which could also make a rather large fifth bedroom.

The master bedroom has stunning views through large windows, and also has a spacious en-suite.

On the ground floor of the property, which stretches to 230sq m, lies a large drawing room – extended by Fanning to accommodate a grand piano. This leads to the dining room and also to a bright conservatory where orange and lemon trees flourish. Impressive mahogany herringbone parquet runs through the hall and drawing room.

The kitchen and breakfast room offer much potential to be amalgamated into one open-plan space – with an option to extend out on to an old patio, which would maximise the light.

Fanning and her husband ran an appliance and underfloor heating company for more than 50 years, and the house reflects this; the driveway – which is quite steep has thermostatically controlled elements under the tarmac – like the ones used on airport runways, so the house is accessible even in the worst conditions. The pool is also heated, and the lawn which runs at quite an incline is serviced by a very clever gadget – an Ambrogio Robot.

This smart little fellow lives in a box where he charges his batteries and takes care of the lawn himself – he is programmed to set off on his own whenever the lawn needs mowing. A boundary wire acts as his limits – rather like a dog controlled fence.

The property, which is in need of some updating, is on the market through Vincent Finnegan with an asking price of €920,000.