Perched above Dublin city on the slopes of Kilternan, Ballybetagh House, a Georgian period home, has been revamped and refurbished. It arrives to the market in immaculate condition.
Believed to date from 1650, the house was rebuilt in 1780 by George Darley, who went on to build Springfield House and passed the house to his nephew, also George, a professor of mathematics at Trinity College Dublin and a poet.
Owned by the Roe family from 1930 on, a famous excavation of Giant Irish Elk was undertaken on the land, which was originally a farm of 130 acres. After the property passed through the hands of a Colonel Chapman, former Irish Times property writer Kate McMorrow bought it and documented life here when she put the house up for auction in the 1990s.
The present owner bought Ballybetagh House in 2000 and began an extensive and thorough refurbishment that included replumbing, rewiring and reroofing. Extending to 445sq m (4,789sq ft), the property is now for sale through joint agents Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty and Daphne Kaye & Associates, seeking €4.95 million.
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Approached via an avenue of lime trees, visitors are drawn to the gentle expanse of lawn in front of the house, from where you can take in breathtaking views over Dublin Bay and beyond: as far as the hulking shadow of the Mourne Mountains, to Howth head, and across the sweep of the southern shore until it reaches Killiney Hill and its obelisk.
Twelve acres remain of the original landholding and the owner brought two stonemasons over from Wales to build the drystone walls that demarcate the fields surrounding the house. The house has elegant interiors and handsome reception rooms. The entrance hall has granite flagged floors, and a cosy library lies on one side with French doors that open to a courtyard.
A formal drawingroom on the other side of the entrance hall has a handsome marble fireplace and makes the most of the stunning views, with a dual aspect. Another sittingroom lies past the drawingroom; it has a wood-burning stove and enjoys the same incredible views.
A long, flagged corridor leads to the rear of the house, passing a sunny courtyard. At the end of the house is a diningroom large enough to pass for a ballroom, with multiple sets of French doors and herringbone parquet floors. Opposite that is a large country-style kitchen, with an Aga built into an impressive chimney breast; it has a snug adjoining conservatory looking out to the garden. There is a comms and utility room attached to the kitchen.
There are four bedrooms on the first floor, two to the rear with two bathrooms beside them. The main bedroom suite is luxurious: it features a vaulted timber ceiling and the en suite is expansive with a free-standing slipper bath, while a dressingroom houses an impressive array of built-in wardrobes.
A mews building has been built on to the main house and is accessed via the courtyard. It has two garages on the ground floor and above it is a guest suite, with a bedroom, kitchenette and bathroom, and a vast study, with built-in shelving, a marble fireplace and a desk situated under a circular window with possibly the best view in the Greater Dublin Area. The first-floor level of the mews has an area of 100sq m (1,076sq ft).
The 12 acres surrounding the house contain a multitude of terrain, from steeply sloping fields stretching up the hills behind the house, the well-manicured lawn to the front and gravelled areas to the side and back of the house with a pond and seating areas. A path leads down through wild gardens to a gazebo and a large pond. There is also a walled orchard behind the house.
Further buildings on the property include a large barn, an artist’s studio, a stable yard and six loose boxes. Heating is oil-fired. The Ber rating is C1.
Ballybetagh House is a couple of minutes’ drive into Kilternan, and the M50 is minutes from the house. Johnnie Fox’s pub in Glencullen is a little further up the road. Foxrock and Carrickmines are within an easy reach.
