Robin Palmer, after a lifetime in the world of property, is putting the house he has lived in for most of that time on the market. He and wife Carol have lived for 38 of their 47 married years in 29 Westminster Lawns, the house they bought for £35,000 in 1978 and are now selling with an asking price of €845,000 through Vincent Finnegan.
“There were half-finished houses all around when we moved in,” Carol says. “Robin went to the office and the builder built around me and the children. We were in muck and dirt and happy.”
They’re downsizing with regret, “now that our girls are reared. Life moves on and the bucket list is getting longer.” Life and a lot of care have made no 29 a comfortably appealing family home. Robin Palmer’s green fingers have created imaginative gardens, even to putting the patio along the end wall, “to catch the most sun”.
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Corner house
A corner house, no 29 has a floor area of 177sq m (1,900sq ft), four bedrooms (one en suite) two reception rooms and rear, open-plan kitchen/dining/family room. An adjoining site, with full planning permission for a three-bedroom house of 120.7sq m (1,300sq ft) is for sale together with no 29.
Not for nothing has Robin Palmer been called "auctioneer to the stars". An inveterate storyteller, he talks with humour about selling "to Robert Shaw of Jaws fame. We had a pint and sambo for lunch and I sold him a place on Lough Mask. I had an eventful time showing Richard Harris around, but he didn't buy in the end."
Iris Kellett
He talks too about the history of no 29. “The land belonged to Iris Kellett [the legendary horsewoman]. I saw her jumping around in the field and thought I’d like to live here. The Gallagher Group bought the land and builder John O’Brien developed it. I’ve sold about 25 of these houses while living here.”
The light-filled, open-plan area to the rear, built three years ago, has three large windows overlooking the garden, a wood burning stove and extensively fitted kitchen. A front-facing drawingroom is equally bright, as is a front-facing study with attractive Le Droff fireplace and wide box window.
Two bedrooms face the front, two the rear. Three have fitted wardrobes, all have double windows and the main bedroom has an en suite shower.
“We’ve had so much happiness here,” Carol says, “and would love it continue as a family home.”
