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Do you live inWicklow town? If soplease tell uswhat it’s like to livethere. Do you have a favouriteplace or a pet peeve in the neigh-bourhood? Emailhomeanddesign@irishtimes.com

We now find ourselves in un-charted waters in the art andantiques market with galleriesclosed and live auctions post-poned. However Irish auctionhouses are still open for busi-ness and are busy valuingitems by email and telephone.

While stuck at home, manypeople find themselves rear-ranging their houses to suittheir working conditions. Thiscan be the time to place a mon-etary value on all the stuff thathas been hiding in the attic.

Online valuations are notnew. For Rory Guthrie of deVere’s auction house on Kil-dare Street: “The reality isthat 90 per cent of all our cor-respondence is done by emailor telephone anyway; so day today work has not been impact-ed. We have taken the viewthat we are still open for busi-ness and are fully functional,albeit from home.”

Similarly art expert IanWhyte, of Whyte’s on Moles-worth Street, says online valu-ations are increasing, and notjust for low-to-middle valueitems. “We actually alreadyget about 50 per cent of ourconsignments through initialvaluations by email, includingsome items with values in ex-cess of ¤100,000, and in oneinstance a collection thatfetched more than ¤5 million,which was a large selection ofimportant paintings.”

Most auctioneers will givean indication of value for free.However, written valuationsto be used for probate and in-surance purposes usually in-cur a fee. It is best to checkwith the auctioneer.

Recently, a photograph of aChinese moon flask, sent byemail to Sotheby’s from a pri-vate Irish collector, created astir at the auction house.

“It came in by email, and wesent the photograph to ourChinese expert in Londonwho became very excitedabout the piece. It was valuedfrom the images alone, and fol-lowed up by a visit from our ex-pert to view the moonflask”,says Arabella Bishop of Sothe-by’s. The item is now con-signed to its Chinese Sale latert h i s y e a r w i t h a£150,000–£250,000 esti-mate.

Adam’s of St Stephen’sGreen is geared up for onlinevaluations. “As online querieshave outnumbered ‘walk-ins’by a factor of five to one for thepast couple of years, we have ateam of 10 valuers providingopinions on everything fromvintage wine, collectablessuch as silver, china, glass andoriental artworks as well as fur-niture,” says James O’Hall-oran.

Philip Sheppard recalls a re-cent set of photographs thatwere emailed to him.”An el-derly couple from Tipperary

emailed us some photographsof old family medals. I hap-pened to be in Los AlamosNew Mexico, and the officesent them through to me. Themedals were easily identifia-ble: a King’s South Africa Med-al (Boer War with its distinc-tive green white and orangeribbon) and a British WorldWar One campaign trio(known affectionately as Pip,Squeak and Wilfred).

“Within a matter of min-utes I was able to access theowner’s uncle’s British Armymedal rolls index card, con-firm he was indeed the recipi-ent and, having accessed theonline Census of Ireland from1911, was able to inform theowner, that his uncle Ed wasin fact Edmund and not Ed-ward as the family hadthought.”

It’s essential to have goodphotographs of items to be val-ued. For paintings, take pic-tures of both sides, with addi-tional photographs zoomed inon the signature and any writ-ing on the back. Stuart Purcellof Mullen’s Laurel Park sug-gests taking only the measure-ment of the painting and notthe frame.

Ian Whyte recommendskeeping image sizes under

10MB otherwise they may notget delivered by email, and tobe patient in awaiting a valua-tion, as assessing and authenti-cating an item can take time.

KitchenscalesJewellery is notoriously diffi-cult to photograph well, saysO’Halloran “whereas watchesphotograph very well, and it isalso useful to have original pa-pers and certificates to verifyauthenticity”.

For silver valuations, JohnWeldon, who holds monthlyjewellery auctions in TempleBar, suggests you pop it on thekitchen scales “as we need toknow how heavy it is, and thiswill have a bearing on its val-ue. Also do not worry aboutcleaning the silver as buyerslike to see it with 20 years oftarnish.”.

Sometimes it takes an ex-pert eye to choose what to pho-tograph in the first place, asnoted by Stuart Purcell of Mul-len’s of Laurel Park: “Our[now postponed] Collector’sCabinet sale includes a veryearly and rare map of Irelandby Abraham Ortelius, which Ispotted in the background of aphotograph of a not very valua-ble Chinese vase. The maphowever, we have estimatedto be worth ¤2,500–¤3,000.”

If you find something inter-esting in the attic, these pageswould love to share your storyso please email us athomeanddesign@irishtimes.com.deveres.ie,sheppards.ie,lynesandlynes.com,hegartyantiques.com.whytes.ie, jwa.ie,mullenslaurelpark.como’reillysfineart.comsothebys.com

ElizabethBirdthistle

What’ssogoodaboutit?Much like its neighbours Killiney andBray, the south Co Dublin coastal suburbof Shankill was developed in the 19th centu-ry as an out-of-town base for well-heeledDubliners. Now, it’s a village with a gentleand settled pace of life, and a neat mainstreet with shops, a library, cafe and pubs.A Lidl and Costa coffee shop have madethe area even more liveable. The village isby the beach and has transport links thatlink it to the city as well as neighbouring vil-lages Bray and Killiney.

It is a historic area with ruined church-es, standing stones and castles, and hasseen rapid growth in recent years.

Growth isn’t likely to slow down. Thegreen light was recently given for 685 newhomes near Shanganagh cemetery,thought to include 480 apartments, 207houses and 48 duplexes. Public transportfacilities are also planned for the area, in-cluding a new Dart station.

What’snotsogood?Like many areas on the coastline (and Dartline), property isn’t exactly cheap. Thebeach is stony and could do with beingmore accessible and buggy friendly. Dur-ing peak time traffic can be bumper tobumper ghastly, with a trip from Shankillto nearby Bray taking up to 30 minutes.

Locals worry that large-scale develop-ment may put pressure on resources. TheBusConnects programme may also take atoll, and is causing concern within thearea. Changes to the bus corridors and sur-rounding roads could potentially mean theremoval of many mature trees and hedges,which line most of the route.

Whereandwhattobuy?At 28 Maryland House, Beechfield Haven,downsizers over 55 can avail of an opportu-nity to buy a two-bed, two-bath apartment(¤289,950, via Castle Estate Agents). Theproperty, within a retirement complex,has the benefit of a direct line to BeechfieldManor nursing home, which is within thecomplex grounds, offering 24 hour assis-tance to independent dwellers.

Mill House at Mill Lane, Shankill, is afour-bed, one-bath double-fronted periodhouse with almost 155 square metres of liv-ing space (¤400,000, via Lisney Dalkey).The property needs total refurbishmentbut could be make for an interesting pro-ject.

Sherrington Cottage on the DublinRoad (¤565,000 via Lisney Dalkey) is athree-bed, two-bath home boasting plentyof charm, quirk and privacy.

Young families, meanwhile, might likethe sound of 88 Rathsallagh Park(¤325,000, via Mitchell Douglas). Thethree-bed terraced house could use a re-fresh but is situated near Scoil Mhuire anda cluster of green spaces.

Whereandwhattorent?As a settled area, rentals can sometimes befew and far between in this particularneighbourhood. Expect to pay about¤1,800-¤2,000 for a two-bedroom apart-ment, ¤2,000-¤2,200 for a three-bed prop-erty or ¤2,200-¤2,500 for a four-bedroomhouse.

Wheretoeatanddrink?Please note that some of the following res-taurants and cafes are temporarily closeddue to the coronavirus outbreak.

On the main drag, there are casual din-ing options galore. You can choose be-tween Chinese restaurant Grace’s Gar-den, above Brady’s Pub (27 Dublin Road),takeaway Bernardo’s (Dublin Road), An-drew’s Chinese Takeaway (2 Main Street)

or Camile Thai (Ashwood House, MainStreet). Brady’s of Shankill is anaward-winning local that serves up decentcarvery fare close to the Dart. Cafe Gour-met at the BBQ Centre on Shankill Road of-fers great coffee and deli fare (and has ahandy kids’ menu, too).

Wholivesthere?According to myhome.ie’s research, 39per cent of Shankill’s population compris-es families. It has a pretty young popula-tion, too. The age breakdown: 23 per centof locals are under 16; 26 per cent are in the16-34 category; 23 per cent are aged 35-49;17 per cent are 50-64; and 11 per cent areover 65.

Goodforfamilies?It being south Co Dublin, you’re not shortof good school options in the area. InShankill itself, you’ll find Scoil Mhuire pri-mary school (Catholic, mixed), Rathmi-chael Parish National School (Church ofIreland, mixed) and St Anne’s (Catholic,mixed). In nearby Loughlinstown, there’sScoil Cholmcille Junior and Senior (Catho-

lic, mixed). Ballybrack holds other prima-ry school options: there’s St Columbanus(Catholic, mixed), St John’s (Catholic,mixed) and Gaelscoil Phádraig (Catholicmixed).

On the second-level front, St LaurenceCollege in Loughlinstown (Catholic,mixed), John Scottus (interdenomination-al, mixed), Woodbrook College in Wood-brook Glen (Catholic, mixed) and HolyChild Killiney (Catholic, girls) are popularwith locals. A little farther afield lies StGerard’s in Bray (Catholic, mixed).

GettingthereandgettingaroundTaking a Dart from the city centre, you willreach Shankill station in just over half anhour. The Luas from St Stephen’s Greento Cherrywood is an option. Road-wise,the N11 and M50 are accessible.

Whatdolocalssay?“We have lived in the village for 24 yearsand it really is a wonderful place. First ofall it is set between the sea and the moun-tains, so there are spectacular views of thebay from Bray to Dalkey with Killiney Hill

and Bray Head on either end. Then to thewest there are the hills with the old leadmines and Sugar Loaf in the distance. Wehave many natural assets and there arelovely walks to be had.

“The community of Shankill is vibrantand buzzing, with a great mix of young andold. There are a number of schools, church-es and shops, and there are many groupsand organisations, which cater for a widevariety of interests. The Tidy Towns is veryactive and we have done very well in thecompetition in recent years. This is largelydown to great community spirit and envi-ronmental awareness combined withmany natural assets like the beach, Shanga-nagh Park and the tree-lined roadsthroughout the village and local estates.”Carol Scott.shtimes.com

Home&Design

Cash in the attic?Now is the time togo looking

It’s essentialto have

good photographsof items to bevalued

TanyaSweeney

Artandantiquesspecialists arebusyvaluing itemsbyemail andphone

MakeaMoveto . . . Shankill,CoDublin

Withpermissiongrantedfornearly700newhomes, this southsidevillage is about to expand

Sleepy suburb set to growArt,antiques&collecting

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■Clockwise frommain: ShankillBeach; houses onMain Street; avillage signpostand ShrewsburyRoad.PHOTOGRAPHS:LAURA HUTTON

Discount Code - SALE10https://woodfloorstore.ie/

THE IRISH TIMESSaturday, March 28 , 2020 3