House about that.. EX-RTE chair Moya views two €3million mansions
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ELUSIVE former RTE chair Moya Doherty has been spotted viewing two separate €3million houses over the weekend.
This is the first time she has been seen in public since she refused to appear before the Oireachtas Media Committee citing “personal and family reasons”.
But the Riverdance creator appeared in good spirits as she and husband John Mccolgan viewed the luxury mansions in leafy North Dublin suburb Howth on Saturday.
Ms Doherty was the Chair of the governing board of RTE for eight years before she stepped down in 2022 and was present during the period when the Toy Show musical was created.
The mega-flop show went on to rack up losses of over €2.2million of licence payers’ money.
Last month it emerged she refused to appear before the Oireachtas Media Committee to answer questions about the recent scandals at the national broadcaster.
She told the committee: “I regret that for personal and family reasons I will be unable to accept the invitation.”
The 67-year-old entrepreneur, who is believed to be one of Ireland’s richest women, was at the wheel of her Fiat 500 as she drove into the Howth properties. One was Sandpiper on Windgate Road.
SECLUSION
On the auctioneer’s website it is described as “a truly unique single storey family home extending to approximately 504 square metres”.
It also boasts an indoor swimming pool complex and has outstanding sea views over Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island.
The advert adds that Sandpiper is situated on mature grounds of around 1.8-acres offering total privacy and seclusion from neighbouring homes.
The second mansion Ms Doherty and her husband viewed was Kilcarrig on the Balscadden Road in Howth. It is on the market for €3,250,000.
According to the auctioneer’s brochure Kilcarrig is a detached period home set in a spectacular location on the Howth Peninsula and enjoys breathtaking views across the Irish Sea towards Ireland’s Eye, Lambay and beyond.
It adds: “Approached by a winding driveway, Kilcarrig stands proudly on an acre of meticulously maintained grounds which are stocked with a colourful array of mature ornamental trees, shrubs and flowering plants. The windows in the principal reception rooms to the front of the house perfectly frame Ireland’s Eye and the everchanging sea views.”
The mansion, which was constructed in 1894, boasts four reception rooms on the ground floor as well as a kitchen and breakfast room as well as a study. On the first floor there are five large bedrooms including a master ensuite and dressing room, a family bathroom and separate study/single bedroom.
It is unclear why the couple would require such a large mansion as eight years ago they sold their Danes Hollow mansion in Howth on the market for €9.5million.
Moya Doherty and John Mccolgan are believed to have made over €89million from the runaway success of Riverdance since it exploded onto the entertainment scene two decades ago. Riverdance was first performed during the seven-minute interval of the Eurovision Song Contest at the Point Theatre in Dublin on April 30, 1994.
The performance reached an estimated 300 million viewers worldwide and earned a standing ovation.
It is often considered the most wellknown interval act in Eurovision history and is credited with transforming Irish dance into a global phenomenon. However, in recent years Ms Doherty has been dragged into the controversies surrounding the national broadcaster and €2.2million losses made by Toy Show The Musical.
Ms Doherty previously defended the commercial musical flop when she appeared in front of politicians.
She also revealed she had no knowledge of the existence of a barter account in her tenure as chair.