This newly renovated property, now part of the Quarry apartment complex in Portmarnock, was once the home of the late Eamonn Andrews, the well-known Irish TV and radio presenter, who found fame in the UK as the presenter of the hugely popular This Is Your Life.
Andrews bought this flat-roofed house on Carrick Hill in the 1970s and commissioned renowned architect Sam Stephenson to design a home with style and a wow factor. Stephenson duly delivered, creating a home fit for a star of Andrews’s standing, with a bar, a stylish mezzanine, a soaring atrium and an outdoor swimming pool.
Famous for the manner in which it had Andrews bursting from the shadows into the path of unsuspecting celebrities and presenting them with the big red book detailing their respective life stories, This Is Your Life had, at its height, more than 12 million viewers every week, making the Irishman a household name. His Portmarnock home proved to be the quintessential retreat, benefiting as it still does from its easy access to the beach, some of the best golf clubs in Dublin and its proximity to the airport.
Following Andrews’s death at the relatively young age of 64 in 1987, the house was acquired by local property developer Denis Finn, and he used the large site on Carrick Hill to build apartments. The Andrews family home was split in two, leaving this three-bedroom house where many of Stephenson’s key features remain intact.
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What was once an exclusive, luxurious home in the 1970s has become the star fixture within a development of apartments. The current owner bought the house in 2002 and lived there until work commitments took him abroad. A leak in the roof in 2020 prompted another renovation that has just been completed and now the house is being brought to market by Corry Estates, asking €750,000.
The house has been stripped back to its skeleton and heavily insulated, with re-roofing, rewiring and replumbing, all done in the past year. New bathrooms and a new kitchen have also been installed, and the house has been impressively futureproofed to the point where it now boasts a B2 Ber rating.
The main living area still retains Stephenson’s concrete-cast curved mezzanine floating over the ground level, stopping short of a soaring double-height atrium with curved windows. The pool has long been filled in however, while the stunning fireplace that once was has been blocked off too. In one saving grace, the dome window still bows out in a bedroom that used to be Andrews’s study and could easily be returned to the same use.
The curved windows in the double-height atrium are now glazed in a tinted glass that reduces glare and excessive overheating, and all windows are fitted with electrically powered blinds. There’s a guest WC and storage off this room and a guest bedroom with en suite.
Steps lead down to a large, fully equipped kitchen. A dining area lies under another window, with wide French doors opening on to an attractive suntrap patio. The front of the house faces south, with an overall area of 180sq m (1,938sq ft).
Upstairs are two more bedrooms and another living area with a cosy electric fire. Both bedrooms have access to balconies. The old Andrews study has an en suite while the principal bedroom is adjacent to the family bathroom.
Number 28, The Quarry would make a great home for downsizers who are hoping to spend more time on the golf course. Three exceptional courses including the world-famous links at Portmarnock Golf Club are nearby, while Portmarnock’s Velvet Strand is only a five-minute walk away.
The property has access to good transport links to Dublin city centre, and there’s a bus stop just outside the gates of the development.
