MOUNT MERRRION:€2.3M HOUSES with big back gardens are no longer being eyed quite so greedily by builders looking to develop them with yet more houses.

Take number 80 The Rise, in Mount Merrion. The detached house has a superb sheltered back garden that in recent years might have attracted speculators.

Now that developers are not being quite so acquisitive, the house may be bought by a family looking for a long-term residence with plenty of indoor and outdoor space.

Dating from the 1940s, it's a pleasant, well kept and recently decorated home of around 198sq m (2,130sq ft) with plenty of scope to extend to the side, where the original integrated garage could be converted, and to the back.

The front door opens into a handsome square hallway with a hardwood floor. There are two principal reception rooms and an additional games room on the ground floor, along with an attractive, bright kitchen that has recently been refurbished with Shaker style units.

Uptairs, the main bedroom is a bright room to the front of the house, with an en suite bathroom. The four remaining bedrooms share a good size family bathroom complete with Jacuzzi.

Mature trees surround the 100ft back garden, giving it a private, hidden away feel.

The Ridings, Castleknock Road, Castleknock, Dublin 15Detached 1940s house with three reception rooms and five bedrooms. A sheltered 100ft back garden

Agent:Harper O'Grady