Make a knight of it in Killiney
KING George IV, the first British monarch to visit these shores without an army, arrived in Dublin in 1821 and is said to have been already drunk when he got off the boat at Howth.
It is also said that he brought with him 800 gallons of beer with which to charm the natives, and by all accounts he got a great reception.
Eighteen days later he departed from Dun Laoghaire, renamed Kingstown in his honour, considerably the worse for drinking, partying, backing horses and generally enjoying himself.
While he was here, though, he did get a little business done.
For instance he got around to knighting Nicholas William Brady, one of the less illustrious members of the Brady family, who would later become Lord Mayor of Dublin.
Brady owned two houses, one of which was known as Killiney Park, in a pretty, elevated situation overlooking the mountains and the sea at Killiney.
And although the house itself has long gone, the properties that now stand in its former gardens can enjoy some of the same advantages that he enjoyed.
Among them is 17 Killiney Heath, which occupies a spot where Nicholas kept a stand of trees.
Number 17 is a split-level, 2,852 sq ft detached house organised so as to make the most of the scenery.
The best rooms are on the upper floor, including the four bedrooms, one of which is en-suite, and the family bathroom.
There’s also a TV room on this floor, a living and dining room with a granite fireplace, and an eat-in kitchen with French doors to a raised deck with sea views.
On the lower level there’s an integral double garage and three other rooms for use as a studio or granny flat.
The agent is Sherry FitzGerald Dalkey (01) 275 1000 and the price is €1.575m.