A reasonably-priced jewel on the Ring of Kerry

The house on the land at the 64-acre holding near Waterville, Co Kerry.
Sales of farmland in Co. Kerry have been relatively rare in the last year or so – a fact borne by recently released statistics from the Central Statistics Office. It will surely be of great interest to local farmers, therefore, that a substantial farm is new to the market this week.
The property is located at the western end of the Kingdom close to the village of Waterville.
This is a popular spot with summertime tourists, for its many charms that include a long beach, stunning scenery and golf course. As well as the general populace, the village attracts a niche cohort from the more moneyed sectors of Irish and international society, thanks in part to Waterville’s association with the actor/director Charlie Chaplin.
All of this plays some relevance on the 64-acre holding that has been put on the market jointly with local agent Pauline Sugrue and Michael Kissane of Iveragh Co-op Mart. This chunk of scenic Kerry grazing land is bounded by the N70 (Ring of Kerry route) and is just 3.5km from Waterville.
The land is of mixed quality and should be of interest to a number of farmers in the area.
The fact of it enjoying a good deal of road frontage onto the country’s principal tourist route may offer some potential down the line but, as Ms Sugrue points out, planning permission – whether for a dwelling or for a commercial enterprise – is not easy in this day and age. This is in spite of the fact that the property does include the ruin of a farmhouse. This is roofless at present.

“The ground is flat to hilly,” said Ms Sugrue, of the property which is also available in two separate lots – Lot 1 of 40.94 acres, which includes the ruin and the N70 road frontage and Lot 2 of 23.4 acres of rough grazing ground.
“It’s all mixed ground with a bit of grazing, but there are a lot of young farmers coming into the scene at the moment who are looking to build up their portfolios... we have a good bit of interest in this farm already," she said.
“Planning permission is very restrictive in these parts, but the existence of the ruin could mean that the construction of a shed would be straightforward, for example. The location of it is good – with the main road running alongside it, it means that the access for any local farmers or those coming a bit of a distance would be good.”
The price expectation is between €180,000 and €240,000 (€2,800 to €3,725/acre).