Norma Smurfit has emerged as the buyer of Hilbery, the Mount Merrion Tudor-style home that fetched €2,275,000 at auction - nearly €1 million over the guide price quoted by auctioneers Sherry FitzGerald.
The former wife of Dr Michael Smurfit, is the new owner of 28 St Thomas Road in Mount Merrion, Co Dublin, a five-bedroom detached house on just over a third of an acre.
The very high price achieved is all the more surprising given the sluggish nature of auction transactions at present.
However, the sale of Hilbery is not the first auction result to make headlines this year for making over the guide price.
Last May a derelict house on Newbridge Avenue in Sandymount with foxes roaming its back garden sold for €550,000 over the €380,000 guide price quoted by Property Team O'Mahony.
Ms Smurfit currently lives at Tyne Villa on the old Stillorgan Road in Co Dublin, close to St Brigid's Church of Ireland school. Sources close to the Smurfit family believe she is unlikely to sell Tyne Villa, a bungalow on large grounds with a separate residence for a security guard.
