Making home in Ireland for generations
Forty years ago, FitzGerald & Partners teamed up with Sherry & Sons to create Sherry FitzGerald, opening their first Dublin office together in 1982. This laid the foundations for a team that has moved with the changing times in Ireland, embracing and championing innovation, while holding to our core values of honesty and integrity, hard work and trust.
In fact, our story starts more than a generation before that, as Sherry & Sons date their origins to back 1949. Meanwhile FitzGerald & Partners had been going strong since 1972, giving the new company a combined experience of more than forty years before we even opened our first doors together on Merrion Row.
That experience, coupled with our family approach, which joins a reputation for welcoming friendliness, with expertise and excellence, has stood the test of time. Today, we are proud to say we are Ireland’s largest, fully diversified property advisory firm, bringing people together with their present, future and forever homes the length and breadth of the country.
Our ethos and values, which have led our growth and success are perhaps best summed up by Sherry FitzGerald founder and first company CEO, Mark FitzGerald:
The 1980s: Market Influencers with Integrity
While 1980s Ireland was experiencing considerable economic difficulty, the fledgling Sherry FitzGerald company recruited for the future, forming a team of young property professionals who shared a common vision of a new type of auctioneering company. From the start, we practiced a strong gender balance philosophy, a philosophy we have continued to champion to this day.
We also always understood the absolute importance of having a strong ethical foundation, combined with a sense of exceptional customer service. With this in mind, we introduced a strict rule of not allowing anyone in the company to buy a second-hand house off our own books – a move which may have surprised some! We also introduced opening 7 days a week into what had traditionally been a ‘9.30 – 5.30 & closed for lunch’ industry.
Our strapline in those early days was ‘the new generation of estate agents’ which has subsequently evolved into ‘the agent you’d recommend to a friend’.
We closed the decade by investing in our belief in a brighter future by opening a second office in Terenure in 1989.
The 1990s: Leadership and Growth
Looking back, it is amazing how much has changed in the way houses are bought and sold in Ireland, and how much of those changes for the better were down to the leadership of Sherry FitzGerald’s company policies.
In 1992 we were the first organisation, outside the Department of the Environment, to provide clear house price information to the general public; this led to the launch of our Dublin House Price Index in 1996. Today we continue to employ economists: through all the challenges of the Europe-wide property crash, we remained committed to research and transparent information by not only retaining this function, but by further resourcing it. Our National Property Index, launched in 1999, is a benchmark in terms of accurate reporting of house price trends and is published every three months.
Opening further offices in the Dublin area, including in Drumcondra, Dun Laoghaire, Templeogue and Sutton, we also began our nationwide expansion, opening in Galway, Limerick and Cork before the decade was out.
As the 1990s came to a close we looked forward to the new Millennium with a series of innovations that were to prove key to how people would come to buy and sell homes in the future.
In 1998, we launched one of Ireland’s first property websites – www.sherryfitz.ie. The following year, we launched Ireland’s first ever national property franchise organisation. Today there are over 70 Sherry FitzGerald franchise offices, providing property advice throughout Ireland.
Continuing to grow, in 1998, we also consolidated our growing commercial presence by forming a joint venture company with the global property advisory firm DTZ Holdings – DTZ Sherry FitzGerald. Rebranded in 2016 to Cushman & Wakefield, it is Ireland’s most successful, and only nationwide commercial property advisor, with offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. In 2018, Cushman & Wakefield acquired our shareholding in the company. In the same year (1999) the Group acquired the Ross McParland New Homes business which was subsequently rebranded Sherry FitzGerald New Homes.
The 2000s: Innovation and Community Support
Kicking off the new Millennium, we acquired Cork’s leading residential estate agency, Burton Crowley O’Flynn, later rebranded Sherry FitzGerald and now occupying a flagship office on Lapps Quay in the heart of Cork City. Recognising our clients’ need for sound financial back up when taking the step of buying a house, we launched Mortgage Insight DAC in the year 2000, later rebranded Sherry FitzGerald Financial Services, providing independent mortgage and financial advice.
While the year 2000 may have begun with concerns about the Y2K Millennium Bug (remember that?!), our CEO, Mark FitzGerald also saw the huge future of the internet in making property searches smooth, efficient and most importantly, fully accessible. As the century turned, he came up with the idea of launching a national property portal and led the process of putting together the team, the partners and the investors that made it happen.
www.myhome.ie was successfully launched 2001. It quickly became Ireland’s largest and most innovative property website and, 5 years after its launch, it was acquired by the Irish Times.
In 2006 we launched two community initiatives supported by the Sherry FitzGerald Foundation. "Your Home Away from Home" saw us underwrite the purchase of 5 Fontenoy Street, Phibsboro, Dublin for Temple Street Children´s Hospital to use as parents’ accommodation for two families 365 days a year. We subsequently organised two successful Walkathons to raise funds for the project.
We were also instrumental in the establishment of Amawele: a national charity which grew to twin 100 schools in Ireland with schools in the Eastern and West Cape of South Africa with the aim of opening the minds of children to the human race beyond their immediate environment. More details around our Corporate Social Responsibility program can be found here
The 2000s: Volatility, Diversification and Expansion
The 2000s were a volatile period in property, as many of us learned all too well. In 2005, we successfully diversified into the U.K. market with the acquisition of the 150-year old, Central and West London estate agency of Marsh & Parsons. In the following year, Marsh & Parsons acquired another London estate agency, Vanstons, and in the subsequent 5 years we grew this network to 14 London offices employing over 200 people. In 2011 we successfully sold the Marsh & Parsons business.
The timing of the acquisition and sale helped to protect the Sherry FitzGerald parent business during the depths of the property crash, enabling us to keep all our own offices open, and 200 people directly employed through the difficult times. This made us the largest Irish property business to emerge from the crash.
2010 and into the Teens: Recovery, Growth and Digital Transformation
As the new century got into its stride, we continued to innovate. In 2018, we launched a new platform, mySherryFitz, which gives buyers 24hour access to booking viewings, following properties of interest, and a huge range of other functions to guide them through the buying process, including registering offers on a property, which allows for full transparency throughout.
Of course, even as we launched these digital innovations, we continued to expand our nationwide footprint. Our team of agents remain available in person, by phone, email or via online platforms — because while digital transformation gives our clients every advantage in the marketplace, we firmly believe that people are at the heart of everything we do.
This commitment to personal service has been reflected in the continued growth of our franchise network. In 2018, we welcomed new offices in Maynooth, Abbeyfeale, Claremorris and across Loughrea and Portumna, further strengthening our presence in key regional markets.
This momentum continued in the years that followed, with new offices opening and existing franchise members expanding into additional locations, including across North Dublin, the west and the midlands.
More recently, the network has continued to evolve and grow, with new franchise offices established in Longford and Virginia, and further expansion in key regional centres including Letterkenny, Athlone, Clonmel and Tipperary Town. In 2026, we will welcome a new office in Bandon, further strengthening our presence in Munster.
Throughout this period, the strength of the Sherry FitzGerald network has remained rooted in its people - combining entrepreneurial local expertise with the scale, support and standards of a national brand.
Sherry FitzGerald Today, and Looking to the Future
These values have served us well throughout our first forty years, and will continue to guide us into the future, as we remain committed to being the most trusted property advisors, creating exceptional value for our clients.
Our strategy of investing in cutting-edge technology has enabled us to continually enhance how we support our clients. During Covid-19, we adapted quickly, introducing state-of-the-art virtual viewings and continuing to transact through mySherryFitz, allowing us to safely support clients and complete sales even during periods of restriction. We have also introduced a streamlined online mortgage application process, making access to finance more efficient and accessible.
In 2022, we celebrated our 40th anniversary and began a new chapter with investment from Castlegate Investments. Our Chairman, Roy Barrett, noted the strength of the Sherry FitzGerald brand and the significant opportunity to build on its success, supported by an experienced management team and a clear vision for the future.
Today, the Sherry FitzGerald Group continues to evolve, bringing together a comprehensive range of property services across residential, new homes, lettings and financial services. Knight Frank now operates as the commercial arm of the Group, further strengthening our capability and providing clients with access to international markets and expertise.
We have also expanded our presence across the island of Ireland, including our entry into the Northern Ireland market with Simon Brien Residential, further strengthening our position as a leading property advisory business.
As the housing market continues to evolve, we remain guided by our core values of integrity, personal service, hard work and trust. Combined with our focus on innovation and our commitment to connecting people with their future homes, these principles will ensure we remain at the heart of our clients’ property journeys for many years to come.
