Killiney Bay is said to be similar to the Bay of Naples. On a sunny day, driving out from Coliemore Road, you get the impression that, of the two, Ireland got the better deal. Both bays are spectacular, but ours does not have the over-development, insane traffic or smog.

The sweep of the shoreline near Dalkey is peppered with narrow lanes that ramble up and down hills, and it’s hard to get a house here that doesn’t have a fantastic view. It must also make it difficult for the locals to find new sea- and cliff-related names for their homes. Being able to translate into Irish obviously helps.

Vista of the sea
Ard na Carraige is just above Coliemore Harbour, overlooking Dalkey Island. Built on three levels (you enter at the middle), it hugs the hill, so that every room – including the dramatic en suite to the master bedroom – has a vista of the sea and the island.

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On the lowest level, the kitchen leads on to a generous split-level deck with built-in barbecue. The middle floor has an enclosed sunroom, and the top floor has generous open balconies. “It’s wonderful here, of course, in the summer,” the owner says. “But there’s a lot to be said for it on a winter’s day with an easterly wind coming over the rocks.”

So compelling are the views that the desks in the study face away from the windows. “I’ve got to get a bit of work done sometime,” the owner laughs.

The house has three bedrooms, all en suite: two at the top, and one on the entrance floor. The family room has a bathroom off it, should you want to turn it into a fourth bedroom. There is also a separate sittingroom and, at 280sq m (3,103sq ft), space isn’t exactly an issue.

Planning permission
But you may want to go a step further. The owners, who are selling to downsize now that their family has grown up, got planning permission, which still stands, to knock the house and build two separate units; one two-bedroomed and one four-bedroomed. It must have been a tough decision: stay in this fantastic spot, idyllically secluded yet close to Dalkey village, but face the disruption of a total rebuild; or move to something smaller.

The house, which is charming as it is, is for sale by private treaty with Sherry FitzGerald for €2.4 million, so it really all depends on your appetite for construction – and how much you want to pay for a priceless view.