Day dawns for rare house

IT WOULD cost almost E3 million to buy a classic Georgian terraced house in the centre of Dublin — in Tralee you can buy a smaller but similar property for just over €600,000.

Number 3, Day Place is an unusual sale in many ways: firstly, it’s one of a terrace of true Georgian properties.

Secondly, it was built by Sir Robert Day, an 18th century Renaissance man who listed Grattan, Robert Peel and the Great Liberator, Daniel O’Connell, amongst his friends and acquaintances.

And, lastly, the house which has functioned as a museum to date, is in perfect residential condition, thanks to the obsessions of its owner and now vendor, Kathryn O’Connor.

Long a collector, an amateur historian and a huge fan of the auction rooms, Mrs O’Connor and her husband Jed thought long and hard before purchasing number 3, Day Place when it came up for sale in 1997.

This was just at the beginning of the property boom and the house had lingered on the market for some time before they took the plunge.

At the time they had ideas of turning number three into an upper level, Georgian guest house, but to their dismay, found that the modifications necessary for a fire certificate would have meant destroying the integrity of the property.

In a fit of altruism, they decided to open the house as a museum, and filled it with the furniture and other historical pieces they had gathered over the years. The couple thought to fill the gap for this type of tourism venture in the town.

The house, surprisingly, since it dates from 1790, was untouched inside and neither did it have the usual wet or dry rot.

The O’Connors needed to render the facade and replace the roof, but most of the work involved was in restoring the plasterwork and sash windows.

All of the cornicing was original, the doors remained and the staircase was also untouched. In fact, number 3 was in a state of grace, compared to its carved-up neighbours, some of which fell to the flat frenzy of the 1960s. And, today, the trend is toward offices. With rear access and mews buildings behind Day Place, coupled with its position between the Brandon Hotel and Tralee Garda Station, the terrace is in a prime commercial position.

However, because of its authentic condition and because of its connection to its famous developer, Justice Sir Robert Day MP, Kathryn O’Connor thinks it would be ideal as a mansion house for Tralee Town Council or/and Kerry County Council. Or it could even continue as a municipal museum or tourist centre, she says, or even as a prestigious, private residence.

Selling agent, Paul Stephenson of Sherry FitzGerald O’Connell, says it could be used for all of the above, including offices. He gives a guide price of €640,000 for this impressive property which is superb value compared to metropolitan prices.