NORTHSIDE SEASIDE:Two period homes on the coast, both 121 years old, are similar – but very different

TWO PERIOD houses new to the market have more than their locations on Dublin’s coastal northside in common: both were built in 1890, have large sweeps of garden to the sea, and are fine examples of late 19th-century style and design. They are for sale by private treaty through Property Team JB Kelly with, in each case, an asking price of €1.5m.

These similarities apart, Inishowen, 151 Dublin Road, Sutton, Dublin 13 and Treborth East, Claremont Road, Howth, Co Dublin, are different in every way.

Inishowen needs work. One of a select group of Dublin houses having direct access to Dublin Bay (in Inishowen’s case there is also access to a stretch of beach) it is full of period charm and original features and would make a dream home for a buyer with the heart, and money, to refurbish.

Close to Sutton Cross and built by McNally in 1890, Inishowen has not been on the market for 72 years, the length of time its owner lived there. Detached and two-storeyed, it has four bedrooms, two reception rooms, a sunroom, kitchen and separate breakfastroom over a floor area of 203sq m (2,200sq ft). It sits on almost half a lush acre, with trees, shrubs and springy lawns front and rear.

Driving up the 75m-long tree- and hedge-lined driveway to Inishowen’s double-turreted front gives you a real sense of its time and place. Both turrets, replicated next door in another McNally-built house, have a double set of bay windows that, inside, give a pleasantly curved dimension to the ground-floor dining and sittingrooms and to a couple of first-floor bedrooms.

Ceilings are high and original hall tiles, timber floors, several fireplaces (most notably one of Cork marble), cornicing, doors and more are all intact.

The staircase leads to a twin return with a wide, feature window. The attic’s potential can be seen in the neighbouring house, where it has become a bedroom suite with a balcony.

Rear views are a large part of Inishowen’s appeal. Seen to great effect from the kitchen and sunroom (the former needs modernising, if not replacing) these take in Dublin Bay as far as Wicklow Head, with Bull Island and its bird sanctuary in between. The south-facing rear garden, 45m long and 20m wide, has a low wall with a picket gate and, the tide being out when The Irish Times called, a sandy beach beyond.

TREBORTH East is a few miles closer to Howth village and has a landscaped, robustly flourishing rear garden giving direct access to Claremont Beach (also known as Burrow Beach). A granite seat encourages restful viewing of rivulets as they stream through the sand, of dogs chasing gulls and a changing sky. The vendor says the Mourne mountains can be seen “clear as crystal” some days.

Treborth East is said to have come about as the result of a bet, when landowner Gainsfort St Laurence staked and lost the land it is built on. Semi-detached, it has 210sq m (2,260sq ft) of floor space laid out in four bedrooms, a family room, two formal reception rooms and a kitchen/breakfastroom. The vendors, who bought the house 20 years ago, refurbished with care and a thoughtful eye to the house’s origins. The gardens are in flourishing spring bloom with, in the front, an abundance of cherry blossom and bluebells and, clinging to the walls of the house, a thriving wisteria.

The main entrance porch, which is enclosed by glass and has a floor of original black and white tiles, leads to a ground-floor hallway and views right through to the gardens and sea. The formal reception rooms are on this level.

A garden-level entrance, reached via nine steps of original, old-time cobblelock, leads to a comfortable living area with country-style kitchen and breakfast room. The floor here is of original terracotta tiles, and there is a Belfast sink, a multi-fuel stove and several built-in dresser-style units.

The hallway is tiled in black and white and a family room to the rear has dusty pink walls and lovely garden views.

Timber doors and floors are a feature throughout. The main reception rooms have wide-planked original timber floors and ornate plasterwork on primrose coloured walls. A rear picture window overlooks the garden and beach. The main bedroom also has original timber flooring, as well as a wall of wardrobes and a picture rail. A second bedroom has views of the hill of Howth; a third has sea views. An extension, built over the garage, has a large family bathroom with sea views above shuttered windows and a separate shower and toilet. There is parking for several cars to the gravelled front.

Inishowen, 151 Dublin Road, Sutton, Dublin 13

Late 19th-century house with direct access to Dublin Bay

Agent: Property Team JB Kelly

Treborth East, Claremont Road, Howth, Co Dublin

210sq m with original features and beach access

Agent: Property Team JB Kelly