In black-and-white American films you get shots of Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey or Tyrone Power leaving apartment blocks, only to stop, chat, conspire and confide with the in-house concierge.

In those days, the concierge was the local hero with the ear of the leading man, the one Bogart, Powell or Raft looked to for advice when plotting an escape, keeping the wife from the mistress, or merely booking a restaurant. Discretion was their middle name.

Today, the concierge service is as often found in Irish apartment blocks as on the big screen or in the multitude of city centre hotels. For many developers, estate agents and management companies, having a concierge on site is another selling point that encourages the selling or letting process: providing 24-hour security, delivering post and parcels, ordering taxis, offering restaurant recommendations, keeping residents up-to-date on local events; or looking after and watering plants when apartment dwellers go on holidays.

Fees are calculated as part of on-going management costs.

According to CB Richard Ellis's associate director, Dylan Williams, who is looking after Beacon Court, a large apartment complex in Sandyford: "We're trying to raise the bar and offer something extra.

"It's a good service and it helps with the sale of the apartment. The concierge is a point of contact for residents and a conduit for information. Eventually, there will be 1,200 apartments in this development and residents will have the benefit of this service."

While you'd probably have difficulty deciphering what might be the difference between a porter and a concierge, Dylan Williams suggests "a porter carries bags, while a concierge doesn't, and is more possibly connected to what's going on".

Pawel Gorski, originally from Poland, is the concierge at Beacon Court. He is three months into the job.

"I work from 7.30 in the morning to 7.30 at night. The first thing I do every morning is meet with the night-shift guy to discuss his shift report, and I then later discuss the report with my manager.

"I also look after the post, the people coming and going, and if a courier arrives with a package I inform the resident by dropping a note in their letterbox to pick it up. I also organise taxis and provide bus and Luas timetables."

The concierge in Adelaide Square, a five-storey apartment block in Whitefriar Street in Dublin 8, is Martin Hall. His day begins a little earlier.

"My day starts at 6.30am and it's a 12-hour shift. After I sort out the post and put it in the various letterboxes, residents often come in looking for keys [they've lost their own] and I take all the notes for maintenance - electricians and plumbers and so on - that has to be done which I pass on to the management company. I also take in packages and generally help with requests.

"I'm three years doing it. I look after 204 apartments, although, to be honest with you, it's a bit boring at times."

Did he ever get any unusual requests? "Most of the residents are medical students from the College of Surgeons and I was once asked, by students doing some research, where the best place to find spiders was. I told them to look under the plants."

Not that the profession is dominated by men. Linda-May Fox is the concierge at 31-33 Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, in Dublin 4, where two-bedroom apartments let for €3,000 a month.

"We have 30 apartments and all are for rent. I work Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm.

"Some of our tenants are with us eight years, so they are not coming to me looking for a taxi and things like that.

"We take in packages, provide office, fax and photocopying facilities but most of the stuff is fairly normal like organising child seats for transport to the airport."

Looking to the future, with Irish apartment living on the rise and not only creating lives but employment too, the role and the voice of the concierge is sure to become more prominent. It will inevitably end up on film, art mimicking life.

What chance Colin Farrell or Cillian Murphy walking out of an apartment block in the future, only to stop, talk, plot and entrust a confidence with the in-house concierge.