Chapelizod may have a Dublin 20 postcode but those in the know are already wise to the fact that it is literally just upriver from both Dublin 7 and Dublin 8. Nestled in between the banks of the river Liffey and the Phoenix Park, it ticks the box for green spaces within easy commuting distance of the city centre that buyers are now looking for. And it comes with an allotment that you can lease on a yearly basis.
You’ll pass the allotments if you happen to cycle along Chapelizod Road towards the village, where you will also catch snatched views of the Liffey.
Several cafes and restaurants have mushroomed up on the main street, including one called The Twirly Gate, after the access point to the park from the village of the same name, which the owners of No 15 New Row say is within about 90 seconds of their front door.
The two-bedroom terraced house is so close to the back gate of St Patrick’s national school that children living here can never trot out the well-worn excuse that they forgot their homework. They could be home and back at their desks by the time the teacher had finished calling out the roll.
The residence, accessed via Maiden’s Lane, which also runs along the river, has been extended and opens into a living room to the front. An exposed stone wall with brick surround riffs with the exposed brick chimney breast and leads through to the eat-in kitchen. Ceiling heights here are almost 2.5m high, so just above standard.
The kitchen has laminate worktops and opens out to the back garden, which, while small, is southwest facing. A large shed, where the gas boiler and washing machine are housed, occupies about half its size but keeps ambient noise out of the property. However, you can hear the kids playing in the schoolyard at break times.
Owners Rupert and Chelsey Morris, respectively a videographer and graphic designer, don’t mind the small space, for they enjoy tending their allotment on the edge of the village. They grow potatoes, radishes, Brussels sprouts, garlic, peas, Swiss chard and spinach in the sizeable plot, which is almost 48m in size and which they lease on a year-by-year basis.
The house was bought by the current family in September 2011 for €195,000 when much of the disruptive refurbishment works had already been done, and has been gently upgraded since. The couple have given it a paint refresh, have overhauled the bathroom and installed a new boiler so that it now has a C3 BER rating.
Upstairs are two double bedrooms, with the main bedroom to the back. The sloped ceilings here extend to 2.8m. The bathroom is set between the two and includes a bath with rainwater shower overhead. It is naturally lit by a rooflight and has a smart black-and-white printed tile floor.
The 71sq m house, which its current owners have outgrown, is seeking €350,000 through agents SherryFitzGerald. A few doors up, No 12, a 76sq m three-bed with an E1 BER rating, came to the market at €340,000 and has been sale agreed.
Across the street, No 18, a C3 BER-rated two-bathroom, two-bedroom property of 73sq m, sold for €388,000 last February, according to the Property Price Register.
