MALAHIDE/€2.5m:This secluded estate in Malahide is home to star residents and No 5 comes with a €1 million price drop, writes EDEL MORGAN
THERE’S A 15mph speed limit around Abington, a secluded luxury estate of around 50 mansions in Malahide, Co Dublin. While signs along the neat grass verges urge motorists to drive slowly because children are at play, this week there were few signs of life; not a single resident walking a dog, mowing a lawn or driving in or out of the development .
All was quiet behind closed electronic gates apart from the gurgle of the Grecian-urn fountain at the entrance. This could be an exclusive resort abroad – minus the golf course and weather – where premiership footballers and captains of industry sit cheek by jowl in the biggest, most elaborate, trophy homes.
Number 5 Abington, set on 1.2 acres, has been on the market for quite a while but has just had a price cut from €3.5 million to €2.5 million through DNG. Built in 2008, it has all you’d expect of such a mansion, including six bedrooms, a home gym, swimming pool, home cinema, a sweeping driveway. Parkway Properties built many of the houses in the luxury development but a few, including number 5,were built by the owners who bought sites in the development. At 1161.3sq m (12,500sq ft) it is one of the biggest in the estate where there’s a mix of Regency and Georgian-style houses and chateaus big enough to house the entire French nobility. All are loosely based on Auburn, the original house in the grounds. Residents include Westlife’s Nicky Byrne and his wife Georgina Ahern and Yvonne Keating. High-profile former residents included former chief executive of Anglo-Irish Bank David Drumm, who lived in number 20.
Number 5, built by developer Robbie Collins, is a contradiction because there is huge attention to detail yet some features are unfinished.
Every convenience and comfort has been thought of including an integrated lighting and sound system, round pin and square pin plug sockets, a central vacuum system, geothermal underfloor heating and thermostatic controls in every room. However some fireplaces are missing gas heaters and the steps on the dramatic wrought iron twin-spiral stair case in the massive entrance hall could do with carpet.
The decor is very cream with polished marble tiles in almost every room, and panelling and fitted furniture designed with columns and pediments. Downstairs there’s a family room and a long sitting room leading to an inner hall, off which there’s a dining room with doors to the garden, a home cinema and a games room.
As well as room for a professional size snooker table, the games room has a sizeable marble-top bar and doors that open out to the garden. At the bottom of the inner hall, doors lead through to a leisure area with a gym, two wet rooms and a decent sized swimming pool with an atrium roof.
The room most used at the other end of the hall is the big Clive Christian-style kitchen cum family room which despite all the classical fitted furniture is a homely space. The island countertop is made from a very impressive slab of brown marble and has two dishwashwers underneath.
Upstairs off the main landing are four double bedrooms, all with walk-in dressing rooms of varying sizes and en suites. The main bedroom has access to a roof area that would need to be railed off if there are young children in the house. You can control the alarm from this room and there’s a panic button.
As well as a huge walk-in wardrobe the en suite has a jacuzzi, wet room, and plenty of storage.
Up on the next level there’s a big toy room, a library, and two en suite bedrooms. It’s quite dizzying to look down from here to the entrance hall.
Outside there’s a lawned and gravelled rear garden screened by trees. Two sites adjacent to number 5 are currently on the market also.
To the front there’s a coach house-style double garage used for storage and a nanny flat with a kitchenette and two very good-sized rooms, one of which is en suite, and like the big house has panelling and cream marble floors.
5 Abington, Malahide
Description: Six-bedroom home with pool, gym and cinema
Agent: DNG
