It’s not immediately apparent, if you use Grand Canal Street Lower as a route to somewhere else, but the people who live here have forged a community whether they have lived here for generations, or decades – or, like the owners of number 24, almost seven years. There’s even a WhatsApp group for Jimmy, Fred, Sophie, Oscar, Bruno, and all the other dogs who meet for a regular game of Fetch and a sniff around Merrion Square.
The humans are pretty friendly too, say Eddie and Niamh, who moved to number 24 in 2015 from nearby Fenian Street. When they bought it, in late 2014, it had been vacant for two years and was in three flats but most of the original fabric survived. “The essence of the house was there,” says Eddie; “and we knew we could grow into it,” continues Niamh. Grow into the 1,625sq ft (151sq m) three-bed they did, but they have gradually grown out of it and are “reluctantly” looking for a house with a fourth bedroom. Number 24 is now for sale through Owen Reilly, with an asking price of €895,000.
"I don't know whether it's luck, or what," says Eddie, but the couple feel that everyone who worked on the house did their very best for them. "This house has been good to us," they say. They did all the big things before moving in – replumbing, rewiring, replacing the floor in the basement, installing a zoned heating system – and later, once they had what their builder called the "envelope", they added shutters, repaired the coving and made a new bathroom so there is one on each floor. The Ber is C2.
A mid-terrace house, one of a pair built in 1905, number 24 presents a modest façade but the interior surprises, with the hall more than 3 metres (11ft) tall and the cornice decorated with eight-pointed stars and stylised tulips. And while the paint colours – mostly neutrals such as Patio Stone and Bye Bye Love – feel modern, the owners have added light fittings and other pieces from their family homes to add period flavour. They also found furniture and a handsome Edwardian cast-iron fireplace in antique shops and at auctions.
To the left off the hall is the drawing room, from which you can see but not hear passing traffic, and behind this is the first bedroom, big but cosy and with a shower room beside it. Upstairs are two more fine bedrooms, both with painted fireplaces, and wardrobes by Legacy Woodcraft. The view from the back room extends as far north as the Convention Centre, and the gracious main bedroom spans the front. The third bathroom, with bath and separate shower, is at the top of the house.
The kitchen/livingroom extends the length of the basement, which is surprisingly bright even on a grim day, with a family dining table in the middle and a brick fireplace by the sofa. There is utility and storage space under the front steps, a small bathroom at the back and an ingenious office at the bottom of the hall stairs.
Ample cupboards and a huge wood-topped island anchor the kitchen end, and patio doors open to the back garden which is designed so that the two levels trap the sunlight. From here, Eddie points out the homes of friends – and neighbours who have become friends – and Niamh highlights the connections from the house to the people and places that featured in the 1916 Rising.
But it’s not close only to Bolands Mills: number 24 is really well connected, with two cycle-share stations, the Dart and buses nearby, and there is permit car parking on the street. With easy access to sports grounds, schools, parks in town and in Irishtown, umpteen Docklands workplaces and all kinds of local shops, it’s easy to see why this family – and their dog – want to stay within close range.
