Modelling agent to the stars gave her period Sandycove home a makeover

Asking price: €1.7m

Agent: Sherry Fitzgerald Dun Laoghaire (01) 284 4422

Having helped launch the careers of fashion icons like Marie Helvin and Anjelica Huston, former model agent Eileen O’Sullivan has an instinct for style and living life to the full that shows in her tasteful renovation of Raven Lodge.

Defying the limited future envisioned for Irish womanhood in the 1960s, O’Sullivan moved abroad and set up successful modelling agencies in two of Europe’s biggest cities.

Modelling agent to the stars gave her period Sandycove home a makeover

“I didn’t want to be another female victim of Archbishop McQuaid [the conservative cleric who dominated Irish life for decades]. You had to stop working when you got married,” she says.

O’Sullivan quit a good job in Aer Lingus and moved to London to set up her first agency, specialising in model photography.

One of her first clients was Huston, then a relatively unknown, but very striking and statuesque, teenager.

“Anjelica was with me in the 60s. She was with the photographer Bob Richardson and wouldn’t work with anyone else,” says O’Sullivan.

“She was a lovely person and we bonded. She loved Ireland because of her childhood in Galway and talked about it all the time.”

In the 70s, O’Sullivan moved to Hamburg and set up another agency, introducing many Irish models to the international stage, such as Alison Doody and Sharon Devlin.

Both went on to be movie stars and marry sons of tycoons — Gavin O’Reilly and Tony Smurfit respectively.

She also represented Mari O’Leary, who later became a PR guru and remains a friend. “There was a period when Irish models were quite fashionable in Germany,” says O’Sullivan.

Raven Lodge also has a place in Irish history. The 1911 Census reveals it was home to Theodore Rogers, described as a ‘Master Mariner’, along with his family, including a six-year old son, John Kelly-Rogers, who would go on to become a leading figure in Irish and world aviation.

In 1916, Theodore was captain of the troopship Connaught, with 11-year-old John working onboard as an orderly during school holidays as World War I raged.

A year later, the ship was torpedoed in the English channel and sank with the loss of three sailors.

Tragically, two of the survivors died a year later when sister ship RMS Leinster was also torpedoed in the Irish Sea just 16 miles east of Raven Lodge.

John joined the British Navy and later the RAF, where he became a pioneer of flying boats. “In 1937, Kelly-Rogers flew the first Empire flying boat up the Nile to Lake Victoria,” states the Dictionary of Irish Biography.

He also test-flew refuelling missions that enabled Shannon to become a hub for transatlantic aviation, using flying boats.

During WWII, the DIB goes on: “Kelly-Rogers was Winston Churchill’s personal transatlantic pilot for the duration. In 1940, he… airlifted refugees from Portugal after the German invasion of France and flew the first non-American transatlantic passenger service into New York.”

He hit the headlines again by “rescuing the stranded flying boat Corsair… in the Belgian Congo (Zaire)”.

In an exploit worthy of Indiana Jones, “he built an artificial dam to deepen the river for take-off, barely avoiding collision with the surrounding countryside”.

And according to the DIB: “In 1941, he commanded a fleet of flying boats out of Foynes [and] received the OBE for his by now heroic services to aviation.”

Having pioneered the age of flying boats, he ended it shortly after the war by starting the first land-plane service between London and New York. Kelly-Rogers returned to Ireland to become technical manager of Aer Lingus from 1947-1965, when he would also have been one of O’Sullivan’s bosses.

She also returned to Ireland and ended up buying Raven Lodge, which she renovated extensively using her renowned eye for style.

Many colourful Edwardian-style period features are retained at the front of the house, while the rear is extended with a contemporary look.

Raven Lodge has 2024 sq ft of floorspace with three sizeable bedrooms and two bathrooms (plus a downstairs WC).

A flight of granite steps flanked by wrought-iron railings leads up to the front door with a classic Edwardian-style overhead fanlight and side lights.

The wide entrance hall has lots of period detail, with coving, a centre rose and a stained-glass archway leading to a rear hall.

There are interconnecting reception rooms with tall ceilings to the left, ideal for having guests around, according to O’Sullivan, who loves to entertain.

To the right, looking out on to the front garden, is a sizeable sitting room which could also be used as a second bedroom.

Further along the hall on the right is a bedroom overlooking the back garden. Stairs descend to the rear return, where a large family bathroom is located with a stained-glass door and fanlight.

The modern kitchen/breakfast/family room comes with hand-painted cream fitted units.

The main bedroom is also at garden level with a walk-in dressing room and a large en-suite shower room. There’s also a utility room and guest WC off the hall.

O’Sullivan, who is downsizing to an apartment, bought the property for its location in the heart of Glasthule Village where there are plenty of shops, bars, cafés, and restaurants.

“I love the village and the People’s Garden. It’s all very friendly. You’ve got the Fish Shack at the bottom of the road and Cavistons,” says O’Sullivan, who’s still clearly living life to the full.

Sherry FitzGerald are seeking €1.7m.