Medieval Howth home a Tudor original for €750k

What a unique prospect for a home in the historic town of Howth, in north Dublin. The Old College, on Abbey Street, originally dates from medieval times; it was then rebuilt in the late 15th or early 16th century – before Trinity College Dublin was founded, in 1592, and probably before Henry VIII, of the House of Tudor, was declared king of Ireland, in 1542.

The fortified building was described in the 19th century as “consisting of a hall, kitchen and the remains of seven cells”. In 2017, archaeologists working at the site of St Mary’s Abbey, to which the T-shaped structure was attached, described it as “part of an ecclesiastical complex dating from the medieval period” – the original abbey dates from 1042.

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Old College, Abbey Street, Howth, Dublin 13: one of the four bedrooms

The home that is now for sale – which has incredibly thick internal walls, and patches of exposed masonry that remind you of its age – is inverted. The four bedrooms are on the first two levels; the kitchen and living area is above them, the tall windows set into the sloping ceilings of its steeply pitched roof giving remarkable views over to Ireland’s Eye and up to the Martello tower that now houses a radio museum (and was itself constructed 300 years after the Old College was rebuilt). All four bedrooms have open rustic fireplaces; at least one could be used as a further living space.

This is not a family home, as it has no garden, but its past and its interesting interior are likely to appeal to anyone with a penchant for historic properties; in fact, the house is listed as a national monument.

The property was last put up for sale in 2008, with an asking price of €1.2 million, but that also included the rather out-of-character shop that sits tacked on to the front of this intriguing town house. The current sale is for the property alone, which extends to 146 sq m (1,572sq ft), and has one modestly sized parking space.

It is on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, which is seeking €750,000.