Taking its name from a former local councillor, Mulvey Park in Dundrum was originally developed as a council estate in 1948. Number 130 was purchased by forensic fire investigator and engineer Maurice Dallaghan 22 years ago: “I bought here as the Luas at Windy Arbour [a six-minute walk away] was being built, and I knew that the location was going to be wonderful. Now it’s a 15-minute trip to town and you can walk to Ranelagh, while the number 11 bus will have you in town in no time too.”
Dallaghan describes the house as being “in a fair auld state” when he purchased it: “I don’t think it had been touched since it was built. But when it was, it was built to last. The walls are poured concrete, really solid but a nightmare to drill.”
At that time, he says, there was a copper cylinder and bath “practically in the kitchen, and you had to light the fire to heat the water”.
He undertook works in two stages. The first, 20 years ago, saw a number of internal walls removed on the ground floor to give a more open-plan space. Now it has one large livingroom that opens into a kitchen, off which lies a utility, pantry and storeroom. The house was also given a full refurbishment at this stage.
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Then, in 2016, he rejigged the first floor: “Originally it had three bedrooms upstairs and a bathroom downstairs off the kitchen. I took what was a wardrobe space in the main bedroom and turned it into an en suite, and then shaved a bit off the main bedroom – which was large enough – to create a family bathroom upstairs.” He also installed a new gas-fired central-heating system and replaced all the light fittings with energy-efficient LED bulbs.
While Dallaghan lived in the 70sq m (753sq ft) house for a number of years, he has rented it out for the past few. “They were all PhD students at UCD and never wanted to leave as they loved the place, and the location was really handy for them,” he says.
It’s also lovely and bright thanks to the large windows and light that pours in from the back during the mornings, while the front of the house gets light from late afternoon to evening.
With sunnier climes on the horizon, Dallaghan has placed his home, which has a D2 Ber, on the market through Sherry FitzGerald, seeking €495,000.
