Buyer will be king of the glens and mountains
The firm are charged with selling a 1,300-acre plus property called ‘Inchamore Farm’ near Kilgarvan, a valley holding which had been owned by generations of the Donovan family, known locally as “the Kings of the Glen.”
The property was purchased by the present owner in the mid-1980s and has had various improvements made since then. The sale includes two restored farmhouses.
Exactly 1,322.40 acres is for sale in this stunning, wild piece of South Kerry. About 450 acres is under forestry, but it is unlikely that permission will be given for more planting.
Inchamore valley has been designated by Duchás as an NHA (Natural Heritage Area), and Kerry County Council has designated it a secondary amenity area.
This U-shaped valley is bisected by the Slahney River, a tributary of the Roughty River, famous for its salmon fishing, and a number of other streams flow down from the mountains in waterfalls.
Caoinkeen Mountain is to the south of the farm, rising to 2,000 feet while, in the west, Knocknamanagh peaks at 1,413 feet.
The eastern end of the farm extends up Knockantooreen Mountain to an altitude of 1,000 feet.
There are also two lakes on the upper reaches of the farm, one of which, Lough Akinkeen, covers 10 acres, and the boundary runs through Commyfaun, the second lake. The sitka spruce plantation surrounds the lakes. It was planted in 1995 and 27 acres are eligible for forestry premia.
Slahney House was renovated in the 1980s and needs some freshening up now, says auctioneer John Daly. Home of the Sweeney family for generations, the site includes an ogham stone, which, according to local legend, marks the burial place of a warrior killed in a battle on the spot.
The two-storey house comes with a kitchen-dining room, a livingroom, utility room and bathroom on the ground floor and two bedrooms, a study and a second bathroom on the first floor.
The Donovan homestead, Inchamore House, is set in a sheltering grove of trees and is a two-storey farmhouse which has been extended at the rear.
It comes with a kitchen, living room, sitting room, a guest bathroom and one bedroom and a bathroom on the upper floor.
Included in the sale is a stone-built dairy, which could be converted.
The buyers for this highly unusual sale of a mountainy estate could come from anywhere, given the proximity of cosmopolitan Kenmare. John Daly says it’s hard to judge guide price levels on a sale such as this, but he has valued the property at 1.2 million. However, he is open to negotiation, and is also prepared to sell in lots.
In one way, this would be a shame, as farms of this size are rare and the vendor bought a number of land parcels, to put this valley farm together.
