Peter's pride of place

PETER KELLY doesn't hide who he is - he's one of very few Irish politicians who are openly gay. And, if you take Kinsey's assessment that 10% of us are also gay, then he's that other rare thing - an honest politician.

Councillor Kelly is perfectly placed to enter the fray in the civil partnership debate. He got married to long-term partner Nick Dunphy in 2003 in Canada, just after British Columbian legalised gay marriage.

He feels that the latest proposals on the registering of same-sex partnerships by the All Party Committee on the Constitution are 'blatant discrimination'.

"We're either serious about equality or we're not: the committee is running scared and they're out of touch with what's happening outside. It's in stark contrast to New Zealand where they're quite open and informed on the issues of civil rights and the family. They use the family in the broadest sense, as a core unit of society."

And that's where Peter Kelly is now heading, though his long-term plans haven't been disclosed and he hasn't ruled out returning to Ireland and the political arena.

Neither is he running away: "Far from it, we're just making a life change: at 37, I'm at the age where it's the right time to do it."

He's the highly regarded leader of Fine Gael in Cork County Council and his very prominence as a gay man is part of his political philosophy.

And, true to form, his home, which is now up for sale, is slap bang in the middle of suburbia at 63, Seven Oaks, in Frankfield.

One of those much maligned, 'average' semis, this house proves the point that every home is individual to its owner.

Drive past and you get no indication of the overwhelming garden that Dominic Cullinane has created for this house. And while the interior has a contemporary, but muted, feel, the garden is full-on.

Nobody expects a tropical rainforest on an overcast January day, but that's what you get at chez Kelly/Dunphy.

And, typically for an all-male household, there are gadgets aplenty. Speakers for the surround sound are hidden in the undergrowth and the Mediterranean back wall is for a projection screen rolled out for the full MTV experience and the Big Match.

When asked about the neighbours' reaction to the backyard parties, Mr Kelly is gives an utterly relaxed reply:

"They're usually here too," he says.

The garden is part Big Brother house, part TV makeover project and hugely impressive. It nails the average semi myth for good.

And when you consider the overall cost of this cutting-edge beauty (two large conservatories could have been built in its place and cheaper), the couple's commitment to their grand design is exemplary.

Now it's someone else's turn to reap the benefits, which include a hard-edged portico, two cedar decks at different levels, waves of planting, (including a banana tree) and vines clambering over a warm wall.

The house has four bedrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen/diner and just over 1,500 square feet of space.

It's on the market with Jeremy Murphy of ERA Downey McCarthy Murphy for offers in the region of €450,000.