As we come to the end of another year, it’s regrettable that for far too many people, the dream of owning their own home remains just that, a dream. The actions and inaction of successive governments from the mid-2000s to the present has driven the cost of new and second-hand homes to a prohibitive level for people who in previous decades would have aspired to having a place to call their own by the time they hit their 30s. But while the first and arguably the only rung on what was once casually referred as the property ladder remains beyond the reach of many, it’s a different story at the upper reaches of Ireland’s residential property market.
As the end of 2023 approaches, an examination of the Property Price Register (PPR) shows that approximately 1,200 sales have been completed nationally for sums of €1 million and above. The figure is roughly the same as that transacted until the end of November 2022 and 50 per cent higher than that recorded in 2021. A further inspection of the register meanwhile shows that at least 222 sales with a value of €2 million and above were completed in Ireland in the 11-month period to the end of November while 56 homes changed hands for at least €3 million, with the most valuable sale approaching the €10 million mark.
What follows are the top 10 residential sales by value this year. Where they appear on the register, the recorded figure reflects the amount paid for the principal residence and up to an acre of land. When a residential property sale includes more than an acre of land, the value of that extra land is not included on the register; we have marked the sale prices of these homes with an asterisk.
1. Bushey Park House
Stilebawn, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow
Sale price: €9.399m
Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty
The sale of singer Chris de Burgh’s Georgian mansion in Co Wicklow, which achieved €9.399 million, in the most valuable transaction to have taken place in the Irish residential market so far this year. Originally offered for sale at €12.5 million in June 2019, the guide price was later lowered by more than a fifth to €9.85 million in February 2022. That significant price drop must have been to music to the ears of at least one potential buyer in the market for a luxury period home. It wasn’t an instant hit, however, taking more than a year to sell and at 5 per cent below its revised asking price. The sale was officially completed and recorded on the Property Price Register (PPR) in June 2023.
Located on 10.9 hectares (27 acres) about 1½km outside Enniskerry, Bushey Park is an eight-bedroom country house extending to 2,337sq m (25,685sq ft). De Burgh bought the property in 1996 and had it refurbished over seven years; works included new heating and insulation and the addition of a lift and a panic room. Also on the grounds are a guest cottage, restored stables, a tennis court, a walled garden and a leisure complex complete with a screening room, a games room and an indoor pool.
[ Take a look inside Chris de Burgh’s Wicklow mansionOpens in new window ]
2. 71 Merrion Square
Dublin 2
Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty
Sale price: €9,246,550
The second most valuable sale of the year was also owned by a recognisable name, this time the billionaire businessman Dermot Desmond, who secured €9,246,550 for his Georgian town house at 71 Merrion Square. The sale was recorded on the PPR in June 2023.
As reported by The Irish Times, the financier, who owns several properties in Dublin and overseas, bought the home for €7 million in 2000 and is understood to have spent in the region of €5 million having it restored and upgraded. There were planning delays with the project, however, with permission to install a dumb waiter taking four years. The property was once owned by fashion designer Sybil Connolly.
Number 71 Merrion Square is understood to have been purchased by Glen Dimplex chairman Fergal Naughton, who sold his Howth property, Drumleck House, in, incidentally, the fourth most valuable residential sale of the year.
3. Paddock Wood
Killiney Hill Road, Killiney, Co Dublin
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Sale price: €8.5m
When it was first brought to market, by Sherry FitzGerald in August 2022, Paddock Wood was described as a dwelling more akin to those found in Los Angeles than on South Dublin’s most sought-after seaside stretch. Extending to a large 1,003sq m (10,791sq ft) on 1.5 acres of landscaped gardens, the modernist mansion features frameless glazed walls across all three of its floors, an outdoor infinity pool and a six-hole golf putting green. Understood to have been acquired by an Irish family, the sale of the sprawling mansion closed in August 2023 sold for 13 per cent below its original guide price of €9.75m.
[ Irish family revealed as buyers of €8.5 million Killiney Hill mansionOpens in new window ]
4. Drumleck House
Ceannchor Road, Baily, Howth, Co Dublin
Sale price: €7.5m
Agent: Gallagher Quigley
Another super-prime sale that was completed only after a price drop, of 12.5 per cent in this instance, was that of Drumleck House in Howth, which achieved €7.5 million in October, according to the PPR. The five-bedroom clifftop mansion was originally put on the market with a €10 million guide price, which was later dropped to €8.75 million. It is understood Glen Dimplex chairman Fergal Naughton’s former home was purchased by an Irish family.
The 780.3sq m (8,400sq ft) property and its vast 10-acre estate overlooking Dublin Bay was once home to well-connected art dealers John and Gertrude Hunt, who had hosted Jackie Kennedy, Elizabeth Arden and Peggy Rockefeller at the residence. The property features ample entertaining space, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and formal Italianate gardens.
5. 24 The Burbidge
Lansdowne Place, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Sale price: €6,999,999
Joint agents: Sherry FitzGerald and Savills
Earning the title of Ireland’s most expensive apartment ever sold, the 321sq m (3,454sq ft) penthouse at Lansdowne Place achieved €6,999,999 in September – a cost of €2,026 per square foot. The buyer, understood to be an Irish businessman, will join pop star Rod Stewart and former Republic of Ireland and Manchester United captain Roy Keane as a homeowner in the high-end scheme.
While the transaction is accorded a lower value of €6,167,400 on the PPR, that figure does not take account of the 13.5 per cent VAT rate applied to new-build properties.
Located on the seventh floor of the scheme, Number 24 The Burbidge comprises three bedrooms with en suite bathrooms and walk-in wardrobes, a toilet, a living/dining area, a lounge, a kitchen and a laundry room.
Developed by Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land on the site of the former Jurys and Berkeley Court Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Lansdowne Place is these days seen by many as fulfilling Sean Dunne’s original boom-era vision for the site as an exclusive, concierge-serviced enclave comparable to those found in cities such as London and New York. It offers 24-hour concierge services, a fitness suite, a morning lounge for coffee and pastries and a formal meeting room which can also be used as a dining space for dinner parties.
[ Ireland’s most expensive apartment: Dublin 4 penthouse sold for €7 millionOpens in new window ]
6. Aclare
8 Marlborough Road, Glenageary, Co Dublin
Sale price: €6.5m
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Reported by The Irish Times in March, the off-market sale of Aclare had been the most valuable sale of the year up to that point, and achieved €6.5 million. The off-market transaction is understood to have been completed in January on behalf of the house’s property-developer owner and was bought by an Irish family.
One of the largest homes on Marlborough Road, the 425sq m (4,600sq ft) five-bedroom Victorian redbrick occupies a pivotal yet private position on the sought-after stretch and sits behind electronic gates on almost an acre of landscaped gardens. While the outgoing owner oversaw a big refurbishment of Aclare following their acquisition of the property for an estimated €6.4 million in 2006 from the late AIB chief executive and deputy chairman Gerry Scanlan, the house had, at the time of that sale, already undergone significant improvement works.
[ Glenageary home sold for €6.5m as prime property market moves up a gearOpens in new window ]
7. Mulberry
27 Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Sale price: €6m
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Understood to have been sold by food distribution tycoon Tadhg Geary to an Irish buyer, the five-bedroom end-of-terrace redbrick called Mulberry on one of Dublin’s most sought-after roads sold for €6.5 million, almost a million over its €5.65 million guide price. Extending to 460sq m (4,960sq m), the elegant home features period details and a 125ft-long walled back garden.
8. Kilmurry House
Thomastown, Co Kilkenny
Sale price: €5.9m
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes
The sale of Kilmurry House, the homeplace of Irish watercolourist Mildred Anne Butler, was recorded in the PPR in June for the sum of €5.9 million. The Georgian manor house in Thomastown, refurbished to an excellent contemporary standard has a total of 11 bedrooms and eight bathrooms as well as an art gallery, a ballroom, a library, an orangery – Butler’s former studio – and an indoor pool. It sits on more than 90 acres of grounds containing a walled garden, paddocks, woodland, a trout lake and a two-bedroom lodge.
9. Dripsey Castle Estate
Carrignamuck, Dripsey, Co Cork
Sale price: €5.85m
Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty
We included the Dripsey Castle Estate in our list of top sales in 2022 but the sale officially closed in January for €5.85 million, according to the selling agent, almost doubling its €2.95 million guide price. The picturesque 70-acre riverside estate consist of an 18th-century eight-bedroom mansion, which has been given a modern refurbishment, and a 15th-century stone castle.
10. 32 Ailesbury Road
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Sale price: €5.325m
Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Registered on the PPR in January, the sale of 32 Ailesbury Road is the second on the high-end residential road to make the top-10 list, selling for €5.325 million. On the market with a guide price of €5.75 million, the 471.1sq m (5,071sq ft) semidetached five-bed on 0.16 hectares was built in 1930 and previously owned by a doctor, who had consulting rooms there, and his wife, who purchased the property for £165,000 in 1984.
There’s a long back garden and a tennis court to the rear, and its neighbours include the Chinese embassy’s staff residence next door and the former French consulate at number 36, bought by Ryanair heir Shane Ryan for more than €4 million in 2013.
[ Ailesbury Road doctor’s home, bought for £165,000, on the market for €5.575mOpens in new window ]
Dublin sales €4m-€5.375m
1 Shrewsbury Gardens, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €5.375m Agent: Knight Frank
Grenagh, Avoca Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin Sale price: €5.2m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Cratloe, 77 Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Sale price: €5m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald. Ann McGettigan, owner of the since-shuttered Strings nightclub on Leeson Street, and her husband Joe sold their Victorian pile on Merrion Road for €5 million in May, according to the PPR. The sale price represented a €1.5 million premium on its original guide price.
[ D4 home of owner of famed nightclub for €3.5mOpens in new window ]
Lamorlaye, Back Road, Malahide, Co Dublin Sale price: €5m
26 Herbert Park, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €4.7m Agent: Knight Frank
Montpelier, Ardeevin Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin Sale price: €4.6m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Lismallon, Westminster Road, Foxrock, Dublin 18 Sale price: €4.25m
Baile An Mhota, Kerrymount Avenue, Foxrock, Dublin 18 Sale price: €4.25m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Caherdaniel, 38a Temple Road, Dartry, Dublin 6 Sale price: €4.25m
43 Seamount Road, Malahide, Co Dublin Sale price: €4,245,674
8 Temple Villas, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Sale price: €4.2m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Knockrath, Castleknock Road, Dublin 15 Sale price: €4.15m No agent: interfamily transfer
Violet Hill, Baily, Howth, Dublin 13 Sale price: €4.09m Agent: Gallagher Quigley
Tall Trees, Claremont Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18 Sale price: €4m No agent
Brackenlea, Old Carrickbrack Road, Howth, Co Dublin Sale price: €4m Agent: Gallagher Quigley
Dublin sales over €3m
106 Merrion Rd, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3.95m Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty
Woodberry, 14 Green Park, Orwell Road, Dublin 14 Sale price: €3.9m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
8 Palmerston Park, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.85m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
41 Palmerston Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.75m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
80 Park Avenue, Sandymount, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3.725m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Hillside, The Hill, Malahide, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.665.5m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Rathbarry, Silchester Road, Glenageary, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.65m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Ingleside, Brennanstown Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18 Sale price: €3,634,950 Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
26 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3.625m Agent: Knight Frank
The Moorings, 59 Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3.6m Agent: Knight Frank
2 Bayswater Terrace, Breffni Road, Sandycove, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.6m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Burnham, 4 Queens Park, Monkstown, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.595m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
22 The Burbidge, Lansdowne Place, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3,524,229 Joint agent: Sherry FitzGerald and Savills
5 Leeson Park, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.47595m Agent: Turley Property Advisors
3 Shrewsbury Gardens, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3.473m Agent: Knight Frank
53 Charleston Rd, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.4m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Cornelscourt House, Old Bray Road, Foxrock, Dublin 18 Sale price: €3.35m Agent:
Speranza, 75 Upper Leeson Street, Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3.3m Agent: Knight Frank
1 Carlisle Terrace, Church Rd, Malahide, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.3m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald (off-market)
2 Temple Villas, Rathmines, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.3m Agent: Mullery O’Gara
11 Oakley Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.3m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
143 Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3 Sale price: €3.3m
Apartment 7, The Merrion Hotel, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2 Sale price: €3.3m
Thorndene, 87 Monkstown Road, Monkstown, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.25m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
Monte Vista, Knocknacree Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin Sale price: €3.235m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald (off-market)
Tara Hall, Balscadden Road, Howth, Dublin 13 Sale price: €3.15m Agent: Gallagher Quigley
Chateauneuf, The Birches, Foxrock, Dublin 18 Sale price: €3.140m Agent: DNG
Ellesmere, 66 Orwell Park, Rathgar, Dublin 6 Sale price: €3.125m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald
4 The Residences, Intercontinental Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Sale price: €3m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald. Once home to the late former taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
Rachra, Coast Road, Malahide, Co Dublin Sale price: €3m Agent: Inhous
The Battery, Sandycove Point, Sandycove, Co Dublin Sale price: €3m Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty
Sales outside Dublin over €2m
Main House, Grangecon Stud, Grangecon, Co Wicklow Sale price: €4.8m* Joint agents: Goffs Property and Coonan Property. Having been first offered to the market at a guide price of €15 million back in May 2018, the sprawling Grangecon Demesne and Stud was sold for just over €10 million in total, including its 256-acre estate and a three-bedroom “manager’s house”, to an Irish businessman. The sale of the main house, a restored and extended five-bedroom Tudor-style residence of 1,199sq m (12,905sq ft), was registered on the PPR as €4.8 million in May.
[ Historic Wicklow demesne and stud sells for €10mOpens in new window ]
Sprayfield House, Sandycove, Kinsale, Co Cork Sale price: €3.8m Agent: Savills
Beltichburne, Mounttemple, Moneygold, Grange, Co Sligo Sale price: €3m Agent: Savills
The Beach House, Coast Road, Bettystown, Co Meath Sale price: €2.925m Agent: Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes
Lugdine Park, Glengarriff, Co Cork (On 35 acres) Sale price: €2.525m* Agent: Charles McCarthy. This 344sq m (3,700sq ft) property in west Cork on 35 acres with a private beach and slipway was once owned by the late and legendary Hollywood actor and Irish star of The Quiet Man, Maureen O’Hara.
Annefield House, Oysterhaven, Co Cork Sale price: €2.775m Agent: Savills
Kundera, Rocky Valley Drive, Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow Sale price: €2.5m Agent: Vincent Finnegan
Weston House, Johnstown, Naas, Co Kildare Sale price: €2.48m Agent:
5 Dargle Demense, Eniskerry, Co Wicklow Sale price: €2.35m Agent: Knight Frank
Slevoir House, Terryglass, Co Tipperary (On 100 acres) Sale price: €2.25m* Joint agents: Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes and Sherry FitzGerald Talbot
Gleann Rua House, Taylor’s Hill Road, Co Galway Sale price: €2.2m Agent: Keane Mahony Smith
Well Road, Ratoath, Co Meath Sale price: €2.176m
The Glebe, Annamoe, Co Wicklow (On 50 acres) Sale price: €2.15m* Agent: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty. This 508sq m (5,468sq ft) five-bedroom pile with four reception rooms was sold by Oscar-nominated film director John Boorman, coming in below its €2.75 million asking price. Boorman owned the home for 50 years and once had Sean Connery and Lee Marvin over for dinner.
4 North Shore, Greystones, Co Wicklow Sale price: €2.025m
16 The Oakwood, Killeen Castle, Dunsany, Co Meath Sale price: €2.015m Agent: Savills
Island House, Cloon and Commons, Castleconnell, Co Limerick (On 9-acre island) Sale price: €2m* Agent: Murphy Gubbins
Ballyman House, Ballyman Lane, Bray, Co Wicklow Sale price: €2m
*Article amended on December 7th, 2023
