The QE2 ocean liner was the last oil-fired passenger steam ship to cross the Atlantic. She was retired to Dubai in 2008 and was due to be converted there to a 500-bedroom floating hotel. Currently lying idle in Port Rashid, the ship still awaits its conversion.
Chief electronic officer aboard the QE2 was James Neary, who bought a large site with a small bungalow perched above Carrickbrack Road in Howth after retiring from duty on the ship.
Neary and his wife Suzann purchased Cobblers Bank in 1989 and engaged architect Paul Sweeney to double the size of the house.
"We wanted all the reception rooms to have sea views, so now all five bedrooms have views to the garden," says Neary who, after retirement from the QE2, set up a company, Tecpro, that provides test equipment to the computer industry.
The original bungalow was built in 1947 and Sweeney’s new design fits seamlessly into the old structure – even the new oak parquet seems to dovetail perfectly with the original flooring.
The house now stands at 475sq m (5,000sq ft) over two floors and sits on a substantial site of 1.3 acres.
The house has three large reception rooms – two of which have bay windows with spectacular sea views. In the centre of the house is an Andrew Ryan kitchen which, though 13 years old, feels brand new. With pale cream units, Corian countertops and an Aga, the central island faces the views of south Dublin all the way to the Sugar Loaf, and the bustling maritime activity in Dublin bay.
The property has a second full-sized kitchen – which was the original. “We decided to keep this as the kids used to have all their friends over and could use this to their hearts content,” says Neary.
Dual aspect
This kitchen opens into one of the three drawingrooms and could, if the new owners wished, become a sizeable master suite with French windows to a patio. The master itself is large, en suite and dual aspect – it also has a bay window with sea views.
In the new section of the house stands a cupola where the bedrooms meet featuring an impressive oak spiral staircase by Tiernan Stairs.
This leads down to a storeroom and large playroom which opens out onto another patio in the garden.
The gardens are subdivided into sections with ponds, water features and more than 1,000 plants and have been meticulously maintained by the Nearys . “We had over 3,000 but not everything will grow here due to the sea air,” says Neary.
The Nearys are downsizing and have placed their home in turnkey condition on the market through estate agent Kelly with an asking price of €3.25 million.
