1 Saint Patrick'S Cottages, Rathfarnham, Willbrook, Dublin 14, D14C9T7

We think of Rathfarnham as a suburb of desirable modern homes in estate settings. However, when St. Patrick’s cottages were constructed, in the early years of the 20th Century, Rathfarnham was at the outermost limit of the urban world of Dublin. A place of rural tranquillity, written about in the novels of Annie M P Smithson as a counterpoint to the hustle and bustle of the city. The local large properties and gardens – Loreto Abbey, Hermitage and Marlay in particular, needed a good supply of labourers to work as domestic servants, groundsmen, coach and stable hands, and the mills on the river dodder also needed industrial workers. The development of St. Patrick’s Cottages by the local authority was to ensure that the men and women who filled these jobs were well housed in a setting that allowed them to walk to work. St. Patrick’s Cottages remain a vital touchstone for Rathfarnham natives, anchoring their memories of the area's past. No. 1 St. Patrick’s Cottages comes to the market in good condition but requires updating and imagination to realise its modern potential. EXPLORE INSIDE: The small entrance way leads to a sitting room in one direction and to the first of two bedrooms in the other. The second bedroom is located off the sitting room. To the rear there is a kitchen, shower room and WC and a small porch leading to the rear garden. The original footprint of the home would have comprised what is now the sitting room and two bedrooms, the kitchen and shower area were a later addition. Many of these cottages have been tastefully extended and remodelled and there is huge scope for a similar job to be undertaken here, subject to planning permission. EXPLORE OUTSIDE: Sit in the rear garden and imagine the cottager of 1910 tending his vegetable patch, with some chickens and maybe a pig for company. The site that the cottage sits on is superb at 400sq metres, with a beautiful enclosed rear garden and side access wide enough to accommodate a car. The area would be unrecognisable to the original owners with easy access to shops and schools, sports clubs restaurants and public parks. The original residents had access to trams to Dublin that left from the nearby village, operating until 1939; but the extensive bus routes that now service the area definitely provide a good alternative. THE BOTTOM LINE: Owning a piece of history is an aspiration of many, this wonderful property offers just such an opportunity and will, we hope, become someone’s dream forever home.