Situated 32km from Dublin, offering a combination of rural lifestyle and city amenities, Kilquade Hill House is being sold by agent Sherry FitzGerald which describes the offering as a “manageable sporting estate”.
Originally the parochial house of the Catholic Church in the tiny village of Kilquade, it dates from about 1820, and sits on five acres of now meticulous gardens.
It was last purchased in 2013 for €1.665 million, according to the Property Price Register. Since then it has been totally transformed after a team of designers and garden landscapers spent the guts of three years toiling to create more functional spaces. Craftsmen from all over Europe were brought in to renovate the house, according to Sherry FitzGerald.
No expense has been spared within this impressive Georgian country house, and the result is impeccable in relation to detail, design and quality. Copper guttering and downpipes, tripled-glazed draught-free windows and solid-oak flooring are just some of the details within its 803sq m (8,643sq ft).
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This figure is split between the main house (390sq m/4,199sq ft) and a new courtyard coach house wing, which offers a further 413sq m (4,445sq ft) of floor space.
It’s all very grand within the main house where a drawingroom and library flank the marble-floored reception hall. Both rooms have impressive fireplaces, the drawingroom has a bay window and the attention to detail in the library – with bespoke floor-to-ceiling under-lit oak library bookshelves – gives an indication as to the standard of interiors throughout.
Connecting with the kitchen, conservatory and formal livingroom is an elegant diningroom, while also on this floor is a dual-aspect guest bedroom suite. Five further bedrooms lie upstairs, and the principal, as you would expect, is sumptuous with an oak-panelled dressingroom, well-appointed en suite and even its own office, should you need to check emails during morning ablutions.
A key feature of the property is the newly built L-shaped coach house, constructed in a central courtyard. It is home to a gym, sauna, steam room and an underground 2,300-bottle wine cellar to store the finest tipples. There are also five bathrooms, a lounge and study, along with plant rooms and four double-bay garage doors – which can accommodate 14 cars. There’s even a pit in one of the bays should you need to inspect the underside of a vehicle.
While this area has been developed as the current owner has a penchant for vehicles, for those with a love of equine pursuits, you can just switch from one horsepower to another, as the lands are perfect for equestrian interests.
Just up the road from the National Garden Exhibition Centre and a short drive from the popular seaside town of Greystones, the elegant pile would suit a family with a penchant for sports. It is one of the few private houses in the country with a tennis court built to International Tennis Federation regulation size for competitions, and has a TigerTurf surface, like the courts found at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Ranelagh and the Queen’s Club in London.
Gardens are a real feature of the property and have been extensively landscaped. Primarily executed by award-winning and internationally acclaimed landscaper David Stephens – who has won multiple gold medals at Chelsea and Hampton Court International Flower Shows – in addition to awards in Japan, South Africa and Australia. Further designs within the five acres are attributed to Irish designers Arthur Shackleton and Mary Reynolds.
Water features include two ponds and a fountain while the grounds themselves have a sunken garden, walled garden and orchard. “Evergreen trees [have been] strategically placed such that every vista beyond the property boundary is attractive,” according to brochure notes, while pergolas with climbing roses and Chinese wisteria line a covered pathway through extensive flower beds. If the thoughts of five acres gives you shivers about maintenance, fear not, there’s a group of little robotic lawnmowers living in the grounds keeping them nice and trim.
It’s really some property and the Ber of B1 tells you all you need to know about renovations, and the important bits you really can’t see. It will, according to Sherry FitzGerald, “be a period home with zero issues for the new buyer for decades to come” and is now on the market seeking €5.5 million.
