Ireland's most expensive house Walford, on Shrewsbury Road, Dublin 4 bought for €58m in 2005 by a mystery buyer now owned by Celtic Trustee Ltd linked to businessman Dermot Desmond the largest shareholder of Celtic Football Club in Glasgow, to be demolished

Workers began preparations to tear down Walford, on Shrewsbury Road, Dublin 4, which is owned by a trust linked to businessman Dermot Desmond. Demolition work has begun on the country's most expensive house.

The house remains the most expensive ever purchased in the State after it was bought for €58m in 2005 by a mystery buyer.

The property was later transferred to a Cypriot company, Yesreb Holdings.

In December 2016, Mr Desmond's Celtic Trustee Ltd paid €14.25m for the Ballsbridge property - a fraction of its sale price during the Celtic Tiger era.

Since it was acquired, three planning applications to have the property demolished have been rejected.

However, the trust secured permission last year to develop a property almost three times larger than the existing 5,963sq ft house.

The original house was built in 1902, but had fallen into a state of disrepair.

In their approval of the plan, Dublin City Council said the building did not have significant features that should be retained.

Mr Desmond, the largest shareholder of Celtic Football Club in Glasgow, has recruited former Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner Marcus Barnett to oversee the creation of a private garden.

Other features listed in the application include a subterranean swimming pool and a gym.

The property is currently sealed off by blue fencing, with a portion at the rear of the building already demolished.