Montebello, Strand Road, Bray, Co Wicklow
Asking price: 950,000
Agent: REA Forkin (0404) 61933
Sinéad OConnor is leaving the seafront at Bray, Co Wicklow. Montebello, her 1860s double-fronted Victorian house facing the promenade at Strand Road, has just been placed on the market for 950,000.
The singer, who is preparing to publish her eagerly awaited biography Rememberings in June, has been spending more time in the United States these last few years.
Famed for hits like Nothing Compares 2 U and Mandinka, as well as her outspoken views, OConnor has put her own colourful stamp on the property with brightly hued paint, including an unusual wall and ceiling mural in the master bedroom.
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Sinéad OConnor is selling her Bray home Montebello
Sinéad OConnor is selling her Bray home Montebello
Outside, she has playfully bookended the house in colour by painting the quoin stones in red, yellow and green. But since acquiring Montebello 14 years ago, the singer has also been a perfect custodian of what is a valuable piece of local architectural history.
The villa-style house is an important component in Brays original Victorian waterfront from times when the Wicklow town was a popular seaside resort.
OConnor has shown a deft appreciation of how best to maintain its original features safely while also showing them off to full advantage.
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The exterior of Sinéad OConnor’s home Montebello
The exterior of Sinéad OConnor’s home Montebello
Rather than have the original joinery hidden under decades of paint, here it has been carefully stripped, treated and put on show in its purest form. From the sash windows, shutters and stairs with ornate rail to the original handmade panel doors, the craft is on view. The hardwood floorboards have been sanded and polished and are in good shape.
In the kitchen, the homes original Victorian stove arch has been pared of render to show off its fine brickwork and houses a cream Stanley gas range.
Montebello also has unusually intricate coving and ceiling ornamentation, particularly in the main entrance hall area, where theres a tree-leaf design ceiling rose. New owners who dont want the colour scheme need only repaint the walls and change the carpets.
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The hallways period features are well preserved
The hallways period features are well preserved
At 3,713 sq ft, Montebello is well over three times the size of an average family home and comes with six bedrooms and three bathrooms. With a large paved front forecourt, it offers uninterrupted views of Brays Victorian esplanade and the sea.
Her appointed estate agents REA Forkin describe it as one of the finest period properties to be brought to the market in Bray in recent times.
Enter via the glazed porch into the main hall on this floor is the living room, family room, dining room, breakfast room and the lounge. The house has original chimney pieces in many reception rooms and there a three remaining in the bedrooms.
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One of the reception rooms with colourful rug
One of the reception rooms with colourful rug
Off the landing upstairs is the master bedroom suite. This includes a double bedroom overlooking the back garden with stained glass detail in the windows. Theres a full bathroom ensuite with a tub and a dressing room.
Upstairs again are five more double bedrooms, one of which is ensuite. The main family bathroom is also on this floor. All the bedrooms to the front of the house have elevated sea views.
The wide side passageway leads to a large rear garden, which has two block-built storage sheds, which could be converted for studio or home office use. Coming off the kitchen through stained glass doors is a patio area for entertaining.
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The kitchen at Montebello
The kitchen at Montebello
At the back left corner of the garden, there is a large timber garden room. There is also lots of space to extend the house further if required.
The house was first placed on the market by the singer in 2016 and into 2017, but was withdrawn again. OConnor acquired it at the top of the market in 2007 and is reported to have originally paid in the order of 1.7m.
Her agents remain tight-lipped on her reasons for moving. She was among a group of residents to object to plans to further enlarge a development of four-storey apartments going up on a site along the waterfront nearby. The developers were recently refused permission for an additional fifth floor after a number of residents objected.
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The view of Bray seafront from the property
The view of Bray seafront from the property
The apartment sales launched last year and the scheme, which will likely boost waterfront values, is now approaching completion. In her objection submission, OConnor wrote that building work at the former Cois Farraige Hotel site nearby meant that the dishes have been jumping around my cupboards.
Crock and roll for you.
Indo Property