Handsome two-bed redbrick within short walk of Dublin’s docklands

Address: 56 West Road, East Wall, Dublin 3

Price: €475,000

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald

At the start of the 1700s, Dublin was plagued by severe harbour silting. At high tide, the water reached as far inland as modern-day Townsend Street on the south side, and as far as North Strand on the north.

In the 18th century, however, large-scale structural reclamation was carried out to wall in the river Liffey. A large stone barrier – the original East Wall – was erected by the then Dublin Corporation to protect the reclaimed land from the sea and, in the 1820s, the East Wall area, including West Road, was established.

In the early 20th century, a series of redbrick Victorian houses were built on this reclaimed land. One of these, 56 West Road, a two-bedroom, end-terrace house, was constructed circa 1923.

It now extends to 70sq m (754sq ft) with a C Ber rating and is for sale through Sherry Fitzgerald seeking €475,000.

When its current owner bought it in 2021, paying €400,000 according to its entry on the Property Price Register, it had been extended and had an open-plan layout downstairs. “Most of the walls were red or purple, which made it very dark and gloomy,” he says. “My plan was to repaint them and bring as much light in as possible.”

With that in mind, he created openings in the wall between the hall and the sittingroom, producing the desired effect.

He also replaced all the flooring with manufactured wood. In addition, he installed new units in light grey, a splashback and a counter in the kitchen.

The house’s windows were replaced throughout while the brickwork was repointed two years ago.

Upstairs, there’s a bathroom with a wardrobe with sliding mirror doors.

In both bedrooms, he retained the Victorian fireplaces and removed the built-in wardrobes to create space. In the main bedroom, wooden slats were installed on the wall behind the bed. “Both rooms are very bright now when the sun shines,” he says.

A tall tree overshadowed the south-east-facing back of the house when he first moved in. It was cut down, and a paved courtyard was created. The walls were painted blue and potted plants now line the borders.

The house is close to the city’s financial district in the north docklands and the IFSC, and is about a 40-minute walk to Grafton Street and St Stephen’s Green. It’s also a 12-minute walk to Fairview Park and about a 10-minute walk to the East Road Cafe, a popular spot with locals.