Cillian Murphy's move with wife and sons back to £1.4m home in Dublin was the 'best thing' he's done

Cillian Murphy is notoriously private when it comes to his family life, which may be part of his decision to relocate from London to Dublin in 2015

The Oppenheimer star, 47, moved to a €1.7million (£1.4million) property in Monkstown, in south county Dublin, with his wife Yvonne McGuinness and their two sons, Malachy, 18, and Aran, 17, and says the move was "the best thing we did".

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Speaking to The Irish Times about the relocation, Cillian explained that they mainly moved to be closer to family.

"The kids are of a certain age. I think if you live in a world capital – like New York or London or wherever – it’s excellent and exciting and stimulating in your 20s and 30s. Then there’s a point where the things that were excellent and stimulating are now a bit sort of tedious and draining. You want something quieter and that’s what we did," the Peaky Blinders star said.

Cillian swapped his north London home for a period property that dates back to 1863 and has six double bedrooms and a drawing room. 

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At the time of the sale the property listing stated that it was an "elegant and comfortable home" with "magnificent original features".

Cillian and Yvonne have put their stamp on the home since the move in 2015. The 3,444-square-foot house received permission to upgrade and we can only imagine what alterations they made to the grand property.

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The move helped with Cillian’s bid to keep a low profile away from his acting career too, though he has said that his motivation to move wasn't necessarily motivated by escaping the limelight. "I think Irish people are generally really decent. If they know what sort of person you are, they respect that," Cillian said. "We moved back about five or six years ago and it’s been the best thing we did."

Speaking to Deadline, Cillian elaborated on why they moved. "We did live in London for 14 years, it was a big chunk of my life from my mid-20s to my late 30s. I really enjoyed it, it was really exciting, it’s a great city, but the move to Dublin wasn’t motivated by wanting to distance myself from the industry. I was purely motivated by wanting to come home to Ireland and raise our kids as Irish and be near our families.” 

Cillian's Irish heritage is also important to him and the Peaky Blinders actor is keen for his children to grow up there. In 2016 the Inception star told The Guardian: "We wanted them to be Irish, I suppose...It’s amazing how quickly their accents have adapted. Even within a year of moving back, they are fading into this rakish west Brit kind of thing. Which I think, hopefully, will get them lots of girls when they’re 15.”

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The Dunkirk star's home in Dublin can hardly be described as a downgrade from his pad in London. Cillian's Irish bolthole is a short five-minute walk to the sea and is close to a yacht club, lovely parks and reputable schools.

DISCOVER: Cillian Murphy's rarely-seen home life with wife Yvonne McGuinness and sons Malachy and Aran