The house is in a great spot and, as other reviews allude to, surprisingly peaceful despite its proximity to a vibrant main road. That road, as Mary highlights, has as array of appealing coffee shops and restaurants. My bedroom was comfortable and spotlessly clean. The shared bathroom too was clean, light and spacious.
I take issue with Mary’s request on the ‘welcome sheet’ to not have too long a shower. “5 to 7 minutes should be enough” is the actual wording (she also states ‘no baths’). I can understand that in the past she may have had guests exploit the facilities, and that that can be time-consuming (if for example the bathroom is in demand), let alone expensive; especially as at the time of writing there are steep rises in energy prices. However, her wording made me feel less like an adult on business in Dublin and more like a teenager on a field trip. I think she could word her appeal to take sensible showers better.
My other observation would be about the use of the kitchen. Mary’s listing lists the oven and microwave as being amenities available to use, although she does elsewhere make it clear that that’s for breakfast only. I told her I was working 5 out of the 7 evenings of my stay, and that because of the nature of my job I appreciate eating after work, around 11pm. When I asked Mary if I could cook after work she said she’d prefer me not to. I think her main concern was the smell that would emanate throughout the house. On the one hand I have to accept Mary clearly states the limited use of the kitchen in the listing. On the other, I would have valued her being open to make an exception in my case, especially as I was paying quite a lot of money (three times what I paid the previous week in a similar place in Cornwall). Or at the very least been a bit flexible. Consequently, I was compelled to eat out late after work all week: both expensive and at that time of night not particularly healthy, as I was limited to burgers and pizzas. She also, in my opinion, curiously states that a prerequisite for guests sitting in the living room is that she is there too. No hot drinks or food in bedrooms might also be not to everyone's taste.
One of Mary’s previous guest reviews clearly indicates guests were able to cook evening meals. Perhaps Mary’s policy has since changed? Perhaps this was routinely earlier in the evening?
Other than the points above, Mary’s house is a clean, colourful, safe and comfortable place, and although I wasn’t made to feel especially welcome, there were elements of my stay I very much appreciated.