Come to Clondulane

CLONDULANE isn’t a soft, symmetrical Georgian manse, but a Victorian five-bed house that commands attention.

And, because it's Victorian, its provenance is more trade than ascendency (to use the values of the time), but is still a well-designed and well-built property that's been through a number of hands.

While there is no direct history of its builder or designer, the house was occupied in 1844 by Mr Peter Carey and a Mr Robert Briscoe, who were followed in 1870 by a Mrs Dennehy. Some 30 years later, Clondulane passed into the hand of Thomas Rice, an amiable fellow who was the solicitor responsible for prosecuting Land-leaguers. He eventually retired as Crown Prosecutor for the East Riding of Cork and took to hunting instead, a pastime which ended with some sumptuous soirees in the house.

Following the Rice's tenure, the property was sold to a Mr and Mrs Peter O'Neill who had no children and, instead, left the property to their housemaid, Catherine Morrissey, who joined them when she was 14 years of age. The Heenan family took possession after the Morrisseys and are now the vendors of this historical property.

Two-storey over basement, Clondulane has some fine architectural details: it's approached by a flight of double steps to first floor level and is flanked by bay windows which rise from the basement floor. The central fanlit doorway leads through to the main hallway, and here, ceilings are higher than the rest of the house.

As it now stands, Clondulane is in good structural condition, with new wiring, plumbing and damp-proofing completed in the basement. It has been lived in continuously since construction, but will need some finishing work, says estate agent Paul O'Driscoll of Sherry FitzGerald O'Driscoll.

The basement level of the house has three large rooms and a smaller pantry area which gives onto the courtyard at the rear.

Upstairs, on the main reception floor, the bay-windowed rooms mirror those on the lower floor. Both sitting and dining rooms on either side of the hallway are 9' by 14' and both come with original fireplaces. Two other reception rooms are to the rear, one of which is now the main kitchen; both are roughly 13' by 19'.

All five bedrooms are on the second floor and are a mix of sizes, with the largest measuring 17' by 14'. Two are en suite.

The basement could function as a separate apartment, staff quarters or simply to extend the existing space.

What's good about Clondulane is that it remains relatively unchanged and, according to joint agent Michael Daniels, lots of the remedial work has already been done.

The gardens surrounding the house are very good and the seven-acre land bank includes some specimen trees and woodland.

Windows throughout the house are original and the reception rooms have particularly high curved sashes that make for very bright rooms, says Mr Daniels. In fact, this reception floor has really high ceilings and is high above the ground, while the basement level is open all the way round.

Offers in the region of €900,000 are being invited by both agents, but purchasers will need some top-up money to turn Clondulane into a million dollar home but it would be worth it.