Situated opposite the gates to Malahide Castle, Shadow Glen is one of three properties that share a private road and some 7.5 acres of prime land.
The owner, who ran a successful refurbishments company with a clients list that included NCAD, Guinness and Cadbury, built this detached five-bedroom house on a green-field site in 2003. He supervised the project brick by brick and has created a playhouse with all the amenities of a top-class hotel.
To add drama to the marble- tiled entrance hall, for example, he hired a decorative artist to add marble paint effects to the walls and stairwell.
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Sprawling to 630sq m (6,700sq ft), the property is colossal – even he admits to getting lost in it. Underfloor heating at hall level keeps the atmosphere throughout at a balmy 21 degrees.
A large sittingroom to the rear of the house overlooks some of the property’s 2.5 acres of immaculate lawned gardens, a job that takes his gardener about an hour every second week to maintain.
The house has its own 17m swimming pool that can be accessed directly from the bedrooms via a back stairs. Inspired by the set-up at Ben Dunne’s gym in Blanchardstown it includes a sauna room, Jacuzzi and heated pool that is kept at a constant 28.5 degrees.
The pool uses a filtered rain water system rather than tap water. So, while extravagant, it shouldn’t impact too severely on water bills. The pool room also has Italianate decorative paint effects.
The property has a games room, a huge eat-in kitchen that is the depth of the house and five bedrooms, all of them en suite.
The house is situated on one of Dublin Airport’s many flight paths. The owner loves to see the planes taking off and landing and admits to watching the departures and arrivals from the terrace off the master bedroom – a suntrap that faces south. He says he can hear them before he sees them.
Alongside is a detached double garage that is 1,000sq ft in size where he installed a first floor.
The property, which has a C1 Ber rating and a high spec security system is asking €3.8million through agents Savills.
