Country’s most expensive house to make way for larger mansion.
A trust linked to billionaire Dermot Desmond has secured planning permission to demolish a house on Dublin’s Shrewsbury Road, which remains the most expensive residence ever sold in the State at €58 million, and construct a 1,600 square metre mansion in its place.
Three previous applications to knock down and replace Walford were rejected by planners but Mr Desmond’s Celtic Trustees Ltd has been given the green light to do so. The house, located on a on a 1.77 acre site in Ballsbridge, was built in 1902 and has fallen into disrepair in recent times.
The Desmond linked trust paid €14.25 million for Walford in December 2016 and the planning permission granted allows the development of a property almost three times larger than the existing 553 square metre house.
Desmond, the largest shareholder in Celtic football club in Glasgow, has recruited former Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner Marcus Barnett to oversee the creation of a private garden. Other features listed in the application include a subterranean swimming pool, a gym, a cellar, a games room and a staff bedroom looking out onto a sunken courtyard.
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