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Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Look inside: Former RTÉ presenter's Glenageary home with French countryside-style garden for €2.25m
Address : 5 Rus-In-Urbe, Glenageary Road Lower, Glenageary, Co Dublin Price : €2,250,000 Agent : Sherry FitzGerald View this property on The former broadcaster Thelma Mansfield has lived in this lovely Georgian family home for the past 40 years, raising a family with her late husband, the photographer John Morris. Rus-in-Urbe, the bespoke group of six houses of which Mansfield's home is number 5, is well named: it's a piece of the French countryside in the heart of bustling Dún Laoghaire , set 100ft back from Glenageary Road , with beautifully landscaped gardens. Mansfield is a keen gardener, and she has created wonderful gardens to the front and back, filled with colourful agapanthus, wisteria, olive trees and a gorgeous fig tree. Since retiring from RTÉ in the late 1990s, Mansfield has pursued her lifelong passion for painting, which began when she won the Texaco children's art competition as a child. At the end of the back garden of her home is an original coach house which she currently uses as her artist's studio. It has a wood-burning stove, a shower room and vehicular access to the side lane. On the beautiful day when we visited the house, the sun was streaming in to the back garden, illuminating the works-in-progress on the easels and the dabs of paint on the palettes. Artist and former RTÉ presenter Thelma Mansfield and her dog, Puffin. Photograph: Rod Morris Entrance hall Drawingroom Kitchen Livingroom Diningroom Number 5 Rus-in-Urbe has a well-loved look about it – parts of the house would benefit from a refresh, but overall it exudes country charm, like visiting an old French farmhouse. Mansfield says it's been a happy house over the past four decades, but now she feels it's time to look for somewhere smaller and more manageable, and allow a new family to enjoy the wonders of country living in the suburbs that this fine five-bedroomed semidetached period house has to offer. The property measures a roomy 235sq m (2,530sq ft), is Ber-exempt and is for sale through Sherry FitzGerald seeking €2.25 million. READ MORE Number 5 is set well back from Glenageary Road Lower, with a 100ft-long garden that has been lovingly cultivated over the years. During Covid, says Mansfield, she would sit out in the front, sipping her coffee and greeting her neighbours from a safe distance. A fanlight and sidelights flank the front door, bringing light into the large entrance hall. The drawingroom to the left has two sash windows with working shutters, and folding doors lead in to the diningroom. Both these rooms have detailed timber fireplaces, and the intricate ceiling coving and centre roses are present and correct in the hall, drawingroom and diningroom. French doors lead out from the diningroom to a rear courtyard, which runs alongside the kitchen and is perfectly positioned for al-fresco dining on a summer's evening. Off the hallway is a guest WC, with a lovely arched window and fitted bookshelves filled with antique books; off the lobby at the end of the entrance hall is a fully tiled wet room with a heated towel rail. The country-style kitchen is laid with original quarry tile floors and fitted with bespoke cabinetry painted in a Farrow & Ball Hardwicke White. It's a little slab of Provence in Dún Laoghaire, and it's clear that this is the social hub of the house. Mansfield brews up a coffee while I ask her about her career in broadcasting. When she was called in for an interview with RTÉ in 1965, she was just 16, she tells me. 'I didn't even know what a continuity announcer was,' she says. She became a household name in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-host of Live at 3, with the late Derek Davis. These days, painting has become her full-time job, and the rooms in her Glenageary home display many of her paintings, along with the photographic work of her late husband, and the antique box cameras he collected. Mansfield has exhibited her vibrant paintings in several galleries, and finds inspiration in the views over Dublin Bay from Dún Laoghaire and the views over Galway Bay from Spiddal, where she spends a lot of time. Looking out to rear garden from diningroom Rear garden Rear garden At the back of the kitchen is a bright garden room with Velux roof lights and French doors out to the rear garden. A utility room to the side houses the gas boiler and is plumbed for a washing machine. The back garden is beautifully landscaped with feature topiary, including a yew tree trimmed into a spiral. There's a raised goldfish pond with a water feature and several relaxation areas to maximise the sunlight coming in from the south and west. On this lovely May day, it feels like we've been whisked to the south of France. Upstairs the gallery landing gives an impressive view over the entrance hall. Overlooking the front garden is the large main bedroom, with two picture windows with working shutters, ceiling coving and a centre rose. It has a large en suite with a stained-glass window and slipper bath. Also overlooking the front is a smaller bedroom, with sash window with working shutters, ceiling coving and a centre rose. A third bedroom has a picture window with working shutters overlooking the back garden. Towards the back of the house, overlooking the courtyard, are two more bedrooms, plus a bathroom with step-in bath with a tiled surround. The upstairs layout could work well for a small family, with the parents and the kids in the front section, and the back section reserved for guests. Mansfield can tell when a painting looks right 'when my eye approves', and her visual instinct is plain to see in this fine family home. Your eye will definitely approve.
Sunday World
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Inside Graham Norton's €5.8M luxury home of 20 years as it goes on the market
The Irish TV presenter is selling his home of 20 years as he wants to downsize Graham Norton has put his €5.8M luxury London home on the market. The presenter has lived at the home in Wapping for 20 years. It has now gone on sale for a whopping €5.8 million (£4.9 million). Described by real estate agents Knight Frank as 'a beautifully presented residence' the three-storey home has four bedrooms, four sitting rooms and five bathrooms. It is 'set in an exclusive and private garden square enclave, that is positioned on the banks of the River Thames in a prime and central Wapping setting.' The home, which was built in 1811 as a customs office by the London Dock Company, is large with bare red brick in areas, with expensive wood flooring throughout, and its many windows flood the home with light. It also comes with an adjoining rear two-floor building with double-height ceilings. Image: Knight Frank A snap showcasing the outside of the home shows the residence tucked away among the hustle and bustle of the city with a large green area in front of it, set against the backdrop of London's famous river and the skyline. More pictures give potential buyers an exclusive look behind Norton's red front door. The main living area appears to be located just a few steps up from inside the entrance. It includes large windows, a high ceiling with beams, and large artworks adorned with spotlights. The perfect spot for hosting his celebrity friends, it comprises a green leather couch opposite two white armchairs with a coffee table on a rug in between. Image: Knight Frank The dining room, with a large oval table, and plenty of seats, a fireplace, and walls adorned with art, has two large doors that open onto a tiled outdoor area that has plenty of greenery. Another spacious outdoor area comes with wall-mounted heaters and an awning so you can still enjoy some fresh air even when the weather isn't ideal. One of the living areas, which is just inside the back door, serves as an airy, yet snug space for reading, with wall-to-ceiling book shelves, cosy armchairs and a fireplace. More books fill the shelves of another cosy room in the home, alongside two light coloured sofas, cushions, artwork and a large writing desk – a must-have for the best-selling author. Image: Knight Frank A hidden nook on a lower floor of the home is next to a staircase, with images showing it's decorated with a keyboard and an acoustic guitar. The well-equipped kitchen comes with a wine rack built into an island, a large American-style fridge-freezer and stunning wood flooring. One of the bathrooms pictured is white, with a large window and seafoam green tiles, and comes with a double sink with a free-standing bathtub. Image: Knight Frank Snaps show inside two of the home's bedrooms, one of which features a stunning period-style bed, with a leather bed in the other. The top floor is occupied in its entirety by the master bedroom. Norton lives at the Georgian Home in the Pier Head conservation area with his husband of three years, Jonathan McLeod and their black cockapoo, Douglas. The couple now plan to downsize. Graham Norton. Photo: Shane Anthony Sinclair Speaking to the Sunday Times, the 62-year-old said he's been thinking about selling the home for a couple of years, and finally feels 'brave enough to make a huge change to my life.' The 62-year-old added: 'My favourite times have definitely been enjoying a drink sitting by the river on a summer's evening. 'My least favourite memory in the house was that time one of the dogs got stuck in a neighbour's shrub.'
