DUBLIN 4: €7.25MTHE BALLSBRIDGE home of the former High Court judge, Dermot Kinlen, who died last year, has come on the market through Lisney.

Wentworth, an imposing Victorian house on Merrion Road with a 137ft walled garden, has an AMV of €7.25 million prior to auction May 28th.

Dermot Kinlen, who took up the role of Inspector of Prisons on retiring from the High Court, was a well-known host who held lavish parties at the drop of a hat. Legal folk, diplomats, policitians, poets and artists streamed through the lofty, high-ceilinged reception rooms at hall level, from an entrance hall decorated with fine Victorian plasterwork.

Now the rooms are empty - the contents having been sold at James Adam earlier this year - and it's clear that after a lifetime in the same ownership, the house is in need of refurbishment. However, viewers will be struck by the scale of the house, which has 450sq m (4,840sq ft) of space. Its westerly orientation means that the back of the house gets sun all afternoon and evening. The upper rooms look out over the grounds of Wanderers rugby grounds towards the houses of Ailesbury and Shrewsbury Roads.

The main living space is laid out over the two upper floors while the garden level is a separate two-bedroom apartment. There is also a studio built to one side of the hall door, over an own-door office unit below.

As with many houses of this era, there is an enormous hall, staircase and landing, giving a lofty elegance to the entrance, with a glazed dome throwing light downwards.

A large drawingroom to the front of the house has a magnificent bay window, elaborate plasterwork and a marble fireplace carved with grape clusters. The kitchen is at the back of the house with access to a balcony overlooking the garden. Upstairs, there is a broad landing with a family bathroom and five bedrooms off it, four very large rooms and one smaller bedroom. These rooms all have working shutters, high ceilings and original fireplaces.

The stairs to the garden level have been removed and there is a separate entrance to this very large space. For a family home this may well be brought back to its original use, but at present it makes a very roomy and attractive apartment with two large bedrooms, a kitchen and big sittingroom with French doors to the back garden. In front of the house is enough parking for . . . well, a big party.

Wentworth, 69 Merrion Road, Dublin 4

Five-bedroom, 450sq m (4,840sq ft) house with a separate apartment and sunny walled back garden.

Agent:Lisney