Thatched cottage retains character

How far back down Memory Lane would you like to go? How does 180 years grab you?

That’s roughly the length of time this authentic thatched cottage has been standing at Laught, Rathcoole, close to Millstreet and Mallow in north Cork. Also within an easy strike of Killarney, it has been used as a holiday home, and has had the same owners since the late 1970s: incredibly, that long ownership is only about one-fifth of its long, long life span, and having been upgraded and recently re-thatched, it’s good for many years to come.

Originally a three-roomed 1830s workman’s cottage on an acre with a well, it was extended in the 1970s to add on a kitchen. bedroom and bathroom, notes agent Catherine Pomeroy of Dick Pomeroy & Co Millstreet, Five years ago it had new more efficient windows and doors added, with a traditional half-door reinstated.

But, critically, it has kept its character, stresses Ms Pomeroy, while still having creature comforts, like modern kitchen appliances, an open fire with wood-burning stove, central heating, and bathroom.

It has views of the Boggeragh mountains, and is offered at €55k on one-third of an acre, with the option to extend to a larger 1.5 acres.

LOCATION: Mallow/Millstreet

PRICE: €55,000

SIZE: Sq m 65 (700 sq ft)

BEDROOMS: 3

BATHROOMS: 1

BER RATING: F

VERDICT: Even the €55k price has an almost old-fashioned feel to it — but it would have been a Lord’s ransom back in the 1830s.