Grasmere is a large, early 20th-century house on an impressive coastal site with sand and sea less than 100 yards from the front door. It was the Dublin home of the country’s sixth president, Dr Patrick Hillery and family; his wife Dr Maeve Hillery lived there until her death last year. Dr Hillery died in 2008 and this is an executor’s sale.

Where the Howth tram ran on tracks to the front of Grasmere, there is now a grassy walk to a beach. The waters of Sutton Creek are a few hundred yards from the front door and views sweep across Dublin Bay and back to the southwestern slopes of Howth Head. Grasmere’s first owner, in 1928, was Alfred Vickery Kingston. He sold to William Lavery in 1952 and Lavery sold to the Hillerys in 1969.

From the outside, Grasmere is every inch a classical, period seaside house. Detached, double fronted and painted white with a black finish, it has picture windows and a balcony above the front door. The layout of the rather sad and unlived-in interior is much as it was when Grasmere was built in 1928 with bright, high ceilinged reception rooms to the front and the working part of the house to the rear.

Dormant grandeur

Those are the positives, and there are many more. But Grasmere is in need of care and attention from an appreciative new owner, someone who will likely get rid of the warren of small rooms to the rear and an apartment added to the side, who will appreciate the spectacular views and dormant grandeur of the front reception rooms and main bedroom suite, the lively grandeur of the wide main staircase, the high ceilings and curve of granite steps to the front door.

Originally one of a series of four to six houses built facing the sea, Grasmere has a floor area of 527sq m (5,460sq ft) with seven bedrooms (two en suite), four reception rooms, kitchen, breakfastroom, three WCs, four bathrooms and double garage.

It sits on a 0.63acre (0.254hectares) site. Agent Norths is auctioning the property with an AMV of €1.35 million at 3pm on June 14th in the Mespil Hotel, Dublin 4.

All four reception rooms have similar, original marble fireplaces with more recent tiled insets. The front two have wide box windows, picture rails and cornicing. Those to the rear have garden views; one of them is a diningroom.

The self-contained apartment to the side needs to be revamped or demolished. The kitchen, breakfastroom and sundry other rooms to the rear also need to go, or become one open-plan space.

There are two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a couple of WCs on the first return. The main, front facing bedroom suite has a wide bay window and glass door to a balcony with the best views in the house.