The film directors

TWO of Ireland’s Oscar-winningg film directors have homes within n spitting distance of each other r in this small, exclusive area.

Neil Jordan (below left) — who directed The Crying Game and the Butcher Boy — owns two off the houses on Sorrento Terrace with its magnificent views out to sea and across to Vico Road. He bought No.6 in 1991 and then purchased his neighbour’s house at No.7 in 1998, which he had converted into an office. The house had previously been unoccupied for three years after a British family trust purchased it from thee Dublin antique dealer Neil Forsythe. The Forsythes had lived in No.7 for nearly a quarter of a century and spent about ten years reviving it as it had been divided into flats. Glamorous visitors over the years to Jordan’s palatial pad include Julia Roberts, who starred in his 1996 flick, Michael Collins.

Just down the hill on Coliemore Road is Jim Sheridan’s house, the director of My Left Foot, In The Name Of The Father and The Field. It’s a modern, flat-roofed building with views across to Dalkey island (pictured above). It was recently up for rent, for €7,000, which seems to be the going rate in this neck of the woods. It boasts a home cinema for 20 people and a jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and wet room.

Before you get too envious, remember that he had a legal battle with contractors who built the house over alleged defective work. The case was settled but Sheridan (above right) claimed he had been unable to sell the house during the boom, when it was worth €7million.