O'Flaherty residence is sold for £2.8 million-plus

The former Supreme Court judge, Mr Hugh O'Flaherty, and his wife, Kay, yesterday sold their Ballsbridge home for a figure believed to be just over £2.8 million.

The seven-bedroom house at 24 Herbert Park was withdrawn from auction at £2.7 million and sold later in private negotiations.

Two parties emerged at auction after an opening bid of £2 million. However, bidding stopped at £2.7 million and the property was withdrawn by auctioneer Mr Peter Kieran and sold about an hour later by the joint selling agents, Lisney and Billy O'Sullivan.

The new owner is Mr John Mullen, an Irish businessman based in the UK who is part-owner of the Thomas Pink chain of shirt shops.

The O'Flahertys plan to move after 22 years in Herbert Park to a smaller house in Dublin 4. They recently paid over £1 million for a three-bedroom house in Sandy mount and have also bought a holiday home in Kerry.

Yesterday's price sets a record for a semi-detached house in Herbert Park, which now ranks only slightly behind Shrewsbury Road and Ailesbury Road in terms of expensive fashionableness.

The last home to sell there, No 32, was a large detached house which made £5.3 million. That was almost double its pre-auction estimate.

Questions about the appointment of Mr O'Flaherty to the European Investment Bank have been put down for written answer in Britain's House of Lords, it emerged yesterday.

Lord Stoddart of Swindon has tabled the questions to the British government. They ask whether any pressure was exerted by the Irish Government on the board of directors of the European Investment Bank to appoint Mr O'Flaherty. They also ask what qualifications in banking or finance, or both, Mr O'Flaherty possesses to make him a suitable candidate for the post and why vacancies for such a position are not advertised.