House on 8.3 acres has permit for 43 flats

Bray

An interesting apartment development opportunity near Bray, Co Wicklow, will arise shortly when DTZ Sherry FitzGerald auctions Old Connaught House, a large 18th-century mansion, which backs on to the Old Conna golf course.

The three-storey house on 8.3 acres at Ferndale Road, Co Dublin, is expected to make in excess of £3.5 million when it goes to auction on May 25th. A property company has secured full planning permission and a fire safety certificate to convert the house into 25 apartments.

There is also planning permission to provide another 18 apartments in a new block to the rear, along with a tennis court. The units will range from 800 sq ft to 1,200 sq ft and could be expected to sell for between £250,000 and £350,000, according to Peter Lynch of the agents.

The house is in a particularly charming rural area close to Bray and Shankill village. It is likely to appeal to one of a number of developers waiting for planning permission to come through on other sites.

Old Connaught House has links dating from the Middle Ages when the estate belonged to the Order of the Knights Templar. The original thatched castle was destroyed by fire in 1776; in 1783 the land bought by the Bishop of Limerick, who built the present house.

Some time later it was acquired by William Conyngham Plunkett, the Lord High Chanellor of Ireland. He defended Henry Sheares for his part in the rebellion of 1798 but was the prosecuting counsel at the trial of Robert Emmet. He redeemed himself somewhat by being one of the leading Protestants who agitated for Roman Catholic emancipation at that time.