Embrace park life at Cabinteely's Carraig Buí

Carraig Buí  Cabinteely, Dublin 18 Price: €675,000-€795,000 Agent: DNG New Homes (01) 491 2600

For suburbanites who have endured weeks of lockdown, public parks such as Cabinteely Park, offer an oasis of respite. But the history of Cabinteely House, the 112-acre park's Georgian centrepiece, is far from sedate.

It was built in 1769 for Robert Nugent, an earl with a reputation for marrying wealthy widows. In the last century, it was owned by Joe McGrath, a veteran of the 1916 Easter Rising who co-founded the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstakes in 1930. The lottery was ostensibly set up to raise funds for Irish voluntary hospitals, but of the millions that poured in from around the world, about one-tenth went to hospitals, and the venture made McGrath and his fellow co-founders wealthy men.

After the Georgian house and park went into public ownership, it was used in scenes for the Saoirse Ronan film Brooklyn and the Glenn Close period drama Albert Nobbs.

The park is now popular among denizens of the suburb's leafy estates, including Carraig Buí, a new development set back off the Johnstown Road, where it is a 10 minute walk from the park.

The Kelland Homes scheme of 20 four and five-bed houses and 28 apartments has proved popular with well-heeled first-time buyers and south county Dublin trader-uppers since its November 2018 launch. While the apartments are almost finished, Kelland Homes has decided not to put them on the sales market, according to Carraig Buí's selling agent. That leaves just the four-bed showhouse and two other houses available at Carraig Buí.

The semi-detached showhouse, which was fitted out by House & Garden Furnishings, is selling for €795,000, a price that includes its contents. Also for sale is another four-bed semi that costs from €675,000 and a five-bed, 1,830-sq ft semi that's priced from €725,000.

The showhouse has 1,814 sq ft of living space extending over three floors. It has a yellow-brick facade, granite to the sills of the large alu-clad windows from Carlson, and zinc cladding to the canopy over the anthracite-grey front door and to the dormer window on the second floor.

There is enough parking for two cars in the paved front driveway and there is a charging point for an electric car. To the rear is a northwest-facing landscaped garden.

Inside, there are 9ft-high ceilings throughout the ground floor. The focal point of the front living room is an inset fire that's flanked by built-in shelving with cabinetry. That joinery is available at an extra cost to the buyer of the show house, as is the media wall in the family area to the rear kitchen-diner. There is a skylight over this informal living space, while a 3m-wide alu-clad sliding glass door opens to the patio and rear garden.

The kitchen/dining/family room has engineered wooden flooring and a bespoke kitchen from Fitzgerald Kitchens. The kitchen is fitted with polished stone worktops, Neff appliances such as a larder fridge, hand-painted European shaker-style doors, and an island unit with a wine fridge. Off the kitchen is a utility room that comes with a washing machine, a dryer, and a larder freezer. 

Wall panelling runs alongside the timber stairs to the first floor, which is home to three of the four bedrooms and a family bathroom. The master bedroom is situated on the second floor. It comes with both fitted wardrobes and a walk-in wardrobe, as well as an ensuite and space for a dressing area. 

Carraig Buí is on view through virtual tours at DNG New Homes.