It's a rarity to leave a house just two minutes from Camden Street with an armful of freshly laid eggs, but at number five Ovoca Road, artist Diarmuid Boyd and his partner Mary Joyce have happily reared hens in their small city garden for years.
The couple purchased the 121sq m (1,302 sq ft) house 21 years ago and completely renovated the property to include a larger kitchen to the rear, and raised the ceiling height of the family bathroom on the return.
The house lies mid-terrace on the tranquil Ovoca Road just off the bustling South Circular Road in the heart of Dublin 8.
0 of 3
To the front of this mid-terrace property, two interconnected reception rooms have high ceilings, ornate ceiling roses, and original shutters frame the wide bay window overlooking the tree-lined road.
The bright kitchen is decorated in country style with a Stanley range, terracotta flooring and a few pieces of antique pine furniture sit perfectly with the property’s heritage.
Upstairs are three bedrooms with original fireplaces, wooden floorboards and the newly renovated family bathroom.
There are tell-tale signs throughout the property that the residents are nature lovers; from the large Ficus carica tree in the front garden, which provides annual returns of juicy figs, to the Sara Walker hens painting in the kitchen.
The rear garden is small, but the layout provides an al fresco dining area, a garden shed and a small chicken run all overlooked by climbing roses and hydrangea. A Victoria plum and an apple tree will provide more autumnal rewards for new owners.
Boyd and Joyce are in search of a larger garden to expand their animal husbandry, and have placed their home on the market through estate agent Sherry FitzGerald with an asking price of €775,000. The three hens are an optional extra but are worth considering; besides happily gobbling up family leftovers each evening, new owners can wake to fresh, free-range eggs every morning.
