It wasn't Jack Nicholson, it wasn't George Michael, and it wasn't U2. No, the person who paid £5.9 million for Sorrento House in Dalkey is Terry Coleman, a 54-year-old car alarm and mobile phone multi-millionaire based in the UK. There were two bidders during the nail-biting auction on June 30th. Mr Coleman was pushed all the way to £5.9 million by another very determined bidder, the chairman of Allied Irish Bank, Mr Lochlann Quinn, brother of Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn.
Mr Coleman is an Irish-born businessman who spends most weekends in Ireland. He was impressed by Sorrento House, not just because of the view, but because of the 1.5-acre gardens, which provide more than enough space for a heli-pad.
Helicopters are a passion of his, but so too are jets. He has his own Learjet, although there won't be room for that in the garden. Mr Coleman had been interested in moving to Killiney for some time, and was waiting for the very best house to come on the market.
The Sunday Times list of Britain's richest people estimated the wealth of Mr Coleman and his wife Anita (51) at £50 million sterling (merely 428th on the UK rich list).
The Sunday Times survey this year said profits at their company, Mergebasic, the Manchester-based company which makes Scorpion car alarms, had fallen slightly in 1996 to £3.9 million. "But with a strong balance sheet, it is worth about £45 million." It added that he and his wife have "other assets".
Sorrento House, which has been in the same family for nearly 50 years, occupies one of the best positions on Killiney Bay, if not the very best.
The four-storey house overlooks terraced gardens, which descend to the waterline. The semi-detached house enjoys sea views on three sides. Internally, it needs complete refurbishment, which is likely to cost up to £1 million.
With over 4,000 sq ft, the Victorian house has six bedrooms, three reception rooms, and an entire floor of empty cellars.
