Thornhill House on Cherrygarth in Mount Merrion is one of the last great houses in this part of South Dublin. Many others around northern Stillorgan – including Beaufield, Oatlands, the Priory and Mount Merrion House – have been demolished, but Thornill still stands on its perch overlooking the city from the south, with sweeping views across Dublin Bay and the mountains of Dublin. This late 18th century house was once the home of the late hotelier PV Doyle, who bought it in 1960, and was previously owned by the Power family, famous for their Powers whisky.
Today the house forms the centerpiece of Thornhill Oaks, a new development of luxury one, two and three bedroom apartments and three and four bedroom family homes. Oak View property developers, led by Stewart Doyle (a nephew of PV) and Ray Cotter, brought in award-winning architects Lawrence & Long to design this owner-occupied development. There are mature trees all around, the most striking of which is a 250 year old holm oak in the middle of the site. You could tie quite a few yellow ribbons around that big old tree.
The apartments are almost complete and will soon be ready to move in, while the houses should be launched next spring. The development met with some objections but, says Doyle, the developers engaged with local people during the planning process because “these are the people we market to – local shopkeepers and young couples a family. This is a low density development, and we have taken care to build it without disturbing the ecosystem. We want Thornhill Oaks to stand the test of time”. Sales agent Frank McSharry of Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty has noted great interest from residents of Mount Merrion and surrounding suburbs looking to downsize.
Following a ‘soft’ launch, half of the 39 apartments have gone up for sale, and agent Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty expects an enthusiastic take-up for the remainder, and for the homes when they hit the market. the market. There are also plans for small stable-type houses attached to the main house, but Thornhill itself – which is unoccupied and still in good condition but needs refurbishment – will be sold as is, developers say. Whoever buys this will need deep pockets and will want to redo it to their own taste.
Thornhill Oaks is organized around what used to be the old paddocks, and the two-bedroom show apartment gives a good idea of the level of luxury reserved for new owners in this three-storey block. The two-bed apartments range in size from 83 m² (893 sq ft) to 92 m² (990 sq ft) and the three beds are over 125 m² (1,345 sq ft) and are energy efficient with a Ber of A2. The front door opens into a spacious hall with higher than usual ceilings giving a feeling of extra space. There is a large guest bathroom to the side, which – together with the master bedroom en-suite – is fitted with porcelain wall and floor tiles, Hansgrohe taps and Sonas sanitary ware and stylish strips of bathrobes. concealed LED lighting.
Both bedrooms have plenty of closet space and the master bedroom has a lovely “toilet room” leading to the bathroom. The open-plan kitchen/dining/living area opens onto a private terrace with composite flooring that is visibly slip resistant in the rain. The kitchen is fitted with contemporary bespoke Kube fittings by Houseworks, and the interior design is by Optimize.
There is a good sized utility room off the main living area, with fitted units and a washing machine and dryer; a consumer unit providing electrical energy is also located there. An air-to-water heat pump system gives instant hot water, and apartments are heated via Stelrad radiators (penthouses will have underfloor heating), with multiple heating zones controlled by individual OEM thermostat displays. All apartments are accessible via a secure intercom system, have fire alarms, smoke and heat detectors fitted as standard and are wired for Virgin Media and broadband Eir.
Thornhill Oaks is on the market through Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty. Asking prices start from €585,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, €770,000 for a two-bedroom, €950,000 for a two-bed penthouse and €995,000 for a three-bed apartment.
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