Fish for a large home at Templeisque

A SMALL bit of tweaking and personalising and Templeisque could be a family home that will prove hard to leave.

The 3,000 sq ft five-bed house, with two floors of accommodation plus a large basement, is on 4.7 acres of woodland, planted gardens, paddock and trout stream so buckets of room for ponies, children, dogs and to walk one's estate on.

Templeisque is seven miles from Cork city, and two miles from points like White's Cross, Glanmire and the Dublin road. It might appear remote (rural is probably a fairer description,) so to be on the safe side estate agents Don Murphy & Associates in Glanmire are giving initial viewers a map for directions.

The brick-faced house, built several decades ago, and slotted into a hillside site, has had new PVC windows fitted in most opes and heating is a mix of oil central heating and electric storage heaters.

Because of the amount of ground and the size of the house, the asking price isn't cheap the guide is €795,000, and at this level people's expectations are correspondingly high.

Prospective new owners will want to make some changes here, and the kitchen might be a starting point given the focus currently on high-end cooking areas. However, the bones of the house are good and the place is ready to move into, says Iris McCarthy of Don Murphy's.

She lists off extra attributes like a fast-flowing trout stream running through the property, and an attractive entrance drive which circles the house.

The location is private, yet fairly readily accessible by car to main routes to Cork, Dublin, Waterford and Limerick. The basement area has a separate access if required from the main portion of the house, and so could suit someone who wants to work from home and maintain a slightly distant presence, especially if there will be callers to the property.

Accommodation at Templeisque includes hall, lounge, with very large picture window and a strategically placed window seat to gaze out on valley and stream views from. It has patio access and a Le Droff fireplace, and there's a 24' by 15' dining/family room with double doors to the kitchen, as well as patio doors.

The kitchen has oak units, there's a utility room, guest lo and a study off the hall, with mahogany staircase in the hall. Up on the first floor the decent-sized master bedroom (16' by 16') has a window seat, plus en suite with both bath and shower, there are three other first floor bedrooms (one with shower enclosure,) as well as a main bathroom with a raised Jacuzzi bath.

The house has a fifth bedroom at basement level, ideal for an independent-minded teenager, au pair or in-law. This and another room have porthole-style windows, while there's also a large storage room adaptable to other uses, such as play area or home office.