IRELAND’S most expensive house has devalued by €43 million since its purchase in 2005.

The Edwardian-style mansion, named Walford, on Dublin’s Shrewsbury Road is up for sale next month with the asking price of €15 million; in 2005 it sold for a record €58 million, 75 pc of what it was six years ago.

Although the property is located in Dublin’s exclusive D4 area and has 1.8 acres of land attached, its current value could still be overestimated with the interior of the house in dire need of renovation and refurbishment.

Upon walking in, potential buyers are greeted with grey concrete floors in the entrance hall. Exploring further, all of the rooms have bare wooden floors and stripped walls with a distinct lack of furniture adding to the bleakness.

The large rear garden is devoid of planting with only a smattering of new trees planted by its southern wall. Planning permission was granted for a pair of detached houses in the extensive grounds, but this has lapsed.

Inside, the signs of unfinished renovation work are evident; rewiring, new radiators as well as plumbing and tiling for four bathrooms.

This may have been done after the permission was refused to replace Walford with a new detached three-storey house with seven bedrooms.

Built in 1902, it had two 18th century marble fire-places installed, but they were stolen during the recession as the house lay unoccupied.

Although the current owner of the site hasn’t been disclosed, within property circles it’s heavily rumoured to be the so-called “Baron of Ballsbridge”, developer Sean Dunne who was in the process of purchasing the Jurys/Berkeley Court hotels site at the time of Walford’s 2005 sale.

The mansion is being promoted as an ideal place for a foreign embassy; with a €15 million asking price as well as a potentially expensive renovation bill, it may take a nation’s finances to bring this house back to life.