Lush, verdant rural oasis ... in Douglas

THE owners of Ballybrack can predict the response of first-time callers to their family home. “It’s ‘I had no idea this was here, it’s like being in the countryside’,” they say.

Really, there’s no other response to such a pleasant surprise.

When Savills’ selling agent Catherine McAuliffe phones to say they’ve a Douglas family home on almost two acres for sale, interest is piqued: there might be a few possible contenders to fit the bill (it’s a very achievable €1.2m, by the way), but surely further outside Douglas, maybe out Rochestown, Maryborough Hill, or Frankfield way. You wouldn’t expect to be able to walk to Daily’s shop in the back village within two minutes for a pint of milk and the paper, or be within a five-minute walk of a selection of Douglas bars.