Address: 6 Sorrento Road, Dalkey, Co Dublin
Price: €2,000,000
Agent: Lisney
A property close to the centre of Dalkey village, once an RIC barracks and later used as Garda offices, has been redeveloped and is now for sale for €2 million. There’s now no hint of 6 Sorrento Road’s past in the arresting modern three-bed house being offered for sale by Lisney Sotheby’s International.
Before redevelopment, a curved ceiling in a corridor downstairs hinted of former cells says property developer Stephen McCleane, who bought number 6 for €874,000 when it was sold in an online auction in June 2024.
At that point, 6 Sorrento Road was being used as offices by Dalkey Garda station, which also occupied a larger building, 29 Tubbermore Road, directly behind it. They were both closed in 2012, and 29 Tubbermore was sold for €1.055 million at auction to a different property investor.
Number 6 Sorrento Road was built in 1837 as a military barracks; it later became an RIC barracks and the 1901 census showed it accommodated 15 people. Eventually it became one of two Garda stations in Dalkey. It’s hard to imagine its former use, walking into the building that’s now a handsome, modern home with underfloor heating throughout the ground floor and an A2 Ber. It also has solar panels and a climate control air-filtering system.
Extending to 185sq m (1,991sq ft), the home is laid out simply, with a small room that could be a cosy sittingroom or home office on one side of the entrance hall, a smart downstairs toilet on the other side, and behind, a very spacious open-plan kitchen/living/diningroom with a ceiling that’s just over 3m high. Upstairs there are three double bedrooms and the family bathroom.
Number 6 isn’t a protected structure, but all the classic six-over-six sash windows at the front of the house – now with thin double glazing – have been restored and are exact replicas of the original windows, says McCleane, with working shutters. The front hall, study/sittingroom and bedrooms all have ceiling coving. Architect Neil Crimmins designed the redevelopment.
The bright open-plan kitchen/living/diningroom, floored with engineered oak, is striking, with a recessed ceiling in effect marking out the different sections. There’s a huge circular roof light over the livingroom area and a long roof light over the kitchen.
In the dining space, there’s a built-in drinks cabinet beside the dining table. At the back of the room, tall floor-to-ceiling bifold doors and windows in a curved wall open on to a modest granite-paved patio garden at the rear. A tall fern in the garden comes from Grange Growers in Kilternan; a cedarwood shed houses the water tank. A high wall separates it from the back garden of 29 Tubbermore Road. This larger house, built around the late 19th century, is a protected structure and has not been redeveloped since it was bought 14 years ago.
Kitchen units and the very long island – topped with pale Silestone – are painted a deep greenish-blue and were built by Wicklow company Greenwood Joinery, which did all the joinery in the house. A sink in the island has a Quooker tap. A decent-sized utility room fitted with cupboards opens off the kitchen and has double doors leading into the understairs plant room, where the air-to-water heat pump is located.
Hallway 
Kitchen 
Kitchen/livingroom 
Living area 
Livingroom 
Office room 
Dining area 
Bedroom 
Bathroom 
Outdoor area
The house has been staged for sale by My Kind of Design and is smartly fitted out; a huge circular sofa fills the livingroom. The study/sittingroom and front entrance are floored with engineered oak; windows in the study, downstairs toilet and entrance hall all have shutters. A coat stand with bench in the front hall has storage underneath.
Oak stairs with a glass banister lead to a wide landing, off which are three bedrooms – all doubles, all with fitted wardrobes, and all windows have deep sills and working shutters. The main bedroom en suite at the front of the house is nearly fully tiled with smart textured tiles; its shutters are divided in two to preserve modesty. The family bathroom has textured grey tiles, a walk-in shower and bath.
There’s off-street parking for one car at the front of the house, which is wired for an EV charger.
Number 6 is just a few doors down from Finnegan’s pub in Dalkey, and a short walk from Dalkey Dart station around the corner.
McCleane has renovated a number of old properties, including a derelict house on Merlyn Road in Ballsbridge seized by Dublin City Council in 2018, as well as developing new sites.