Over €3.75 million for former Miss Meredith's school

SchoolSale: The former home of "Miss Meredith's", the Pembroke School on Pembroke Road is being offered for sale by public tender. A junior and secondary school for more than 75 years, the elegant Georgian building has a guide price of over €3.75 million.

Fondly remembered by generations of girls who attended the exclusive private institution at 1 Pembroke Road, Miss Meredith's finally closed its doors as a school only last June.

"We very much regret that Pembroke School is due to close in June. The whole thing is very, very sad for all of us involved," the school's director, Dr Pauline O'Connell, stated last May prior to the closure. "It has been coming down the road for a long time but we don't have the pupil numbers to sustain the school anymore."

The building occupies a high profile spot on Pembroke Road and Waterloo Road, and includes a mews on Pembroke Lane. The main building comprises a three-storey over basement building extending to about 309sq m (3,326sq ft).

The single storey mews extends to 57.5sq m (619sq ft) and there is pedestrian access off Waterloo Road leading to a 40-metre rear garden. There is also car-parking to the front accessed off Pembroke Road.

Although used as a school, the entire property is zoned "ZZ" to protect and/or improve the amenities of the residential conservation area. Unsurprisingly, the building is a protected structure, and overall it has been well maintained during its period as a junior and secondary school for the capital's young ladies.

The offer represents an "excellent opportunity" for investors or owner-occupiers to purchase a high profile building close to all amenities while also being within walking distance of the city centre, according to agent Ganly Walters. The tender date is November 18th and the agent expects a considerable level of interest in the property.

Miss Meredith remained a central figure throughout the school's history. She came from an old and respected family in Co Kerry where her father was a justice of the peace.

She founded Pembroke School in 1929 and moved into 1 Pembroke Road in 1930. She started with a nucleus of just 10 girls but the school grew quickly under her tutelage.

It was a substantial undertaking at a time soon after the formation of the State. Hers was one of a number of lay Catholic schools founded in that period.