Drumcondra church with fine interior for over €2m

A small Victorian church with a stunning interior at Drumcondra, Dublin 9, is the most unusual property to come on the market so far this year.

Nicholas Corson of estate agent Finnegan Menton is inviting offers over €2 million for St Alphonsus Church (above and right) at Chapelgate, which has been used as an artist's studio in recent years.

The church was built for the Redemptorist Order in 1878. The adjoining convent has already been converted into apartments and, though most of the remaining grounds have been used by Shannon Homes for apartments and houses, the closed order of the Most Holy Redeemer still occupies part of the site where a modern new convent has been built.

Unlike most disused churches that come on the market, St Alphonsus Church is of a manageable scale with a floor area of only 603sq m (6,500sq ft). It stands behind high walls and is reached through electronically-controlled gates. Finnegan Menton says that, subject to planning permission, it could be used for a variety of purposes, including residential, office, recording studio or restaurant.

The listed building was designed by George Ashlin who had been in partnership with the son of Augustus Welby Pugin, the 19th century's foremost advocate of Gothic architecture. While there are elements of the Gothic in this chapel, it also incorporates Palladian and Baroque features and, over the high altar, a top-lit dome.

The interior is most impressive with highly decorated walls mainly covered with inlaid marble. From floor-to-ceiling there is hardly any surface left plain, as those areas not faced with marble are either painted or carved. The entire space rises without obstruction except for a gallery at the back of the chapel and, according to the selling agent, a non-intrusive mezzanine level could be introduced to create extra space.

However, this would mean using artificial light on the lower level as all the windows are on the upper level.