I have 17 portraits of myself - but I am not a megalomaniac, says David Norris
IT TAKES some degree of confidence to deck out your home with portraits of yourself.
“It’s not because I’m a megalomaniac like Charlie Haughey,” Senator Norris clarifies.
“Yes, I have 17 portraits of myself in the house but there’s a simple explanation – I do a lot of charity work.
“Very often they say, ‘We have something for you,’ and they give me a painting of myself so I have to hang them up.”
Norris is one of several celebrities taking part in RTÉ’s ‘Celebrity Home of the Year’.
“It’s meant to be a surprise who owns each house but with all the portraits around mine it can’t remain a mystery,” he said.
Former Leinster and Ireland Rugby player Mike Ross, radio host Eoghan McDermott, author Melissa Hill, and personality Lorraine Keane will also be taking part.
“I haven’t a hope in hell of winning,” Norris told the Irish Independent.
“I’ve watched the show and the homes that normally feature haven’t a hairpin out of place – my house is not like that. Although I did clear away a few books”
Norris has spent 40 years living in his stately 18th century Georgian home on North Great Georges Street.
“I love the plasterwork and architecture and the way Georgian design just lets light flood through a house,” he said.
When the Senator bought the terraced house, it was divided up into 25 rooms.
Tenants renting rooms out included former Fiction Laureate Anne Enright and award-winning author Sebastian Barry.
Renovated
During his 40 years there, Norris has extensively renovated the house, which dates to 1787.
He broke down dividing walls, built a library, fitted the house with a spiral staircase and reduced the number of guest rooms to one.
“I didn’t want to be invaded by guests so I got rid of the other bedrooms,” he said.
His house also features a mural replicating a painting in the Louvre called Jeune Homme Nu Assis au Bord de la Mer by Hippolyte Flandrin.
“This is my house and it is made to fit me,” Norris says. “I am house-proud and I absolutely adore my home.”
TV and radio presenter Eoghan McDermott is the most recent homeowner to feature on the show; he bought his property only this year and has renovated it extensively.
Viewers will also get a tour of Mike Ross and his wife Kimberlee’s home.
The couple and their two children live in an extended gate lodge in Dublin.
The Celebrity Home of the Year judging panel has changed this year.
Hugh Wallace and interior designer Deirdre Whelan will be joined by award winning architect Patrick Bradley – who featured on Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’.
‘Celebrity Home of the Year’ airs on RTÉ One on January 2 at 9.35pm.